The user, the platform and the regulator: Empowering users in the implementation of new rules for video-sharing platforms

Abstract

The European Union is amidst the process of creating entirely new rules for content regulation on digital platforms in the form of the Digital Services Act (DSA). The DSA proposal, an update on the current e-Commerce Directive, started a process that will produce legislation with potentially far-reaching consequences not only for the EU’s digital environment but also likely far beyond its borders. The outcome is, of course, not yet known. However, judging from the proposal, DSA will make platforms’ content distribution and moderation practices more transparent, give users more power and protection, and create a regulatory framework to oversee it all. However, earth-shaking as it sounds, at least in the context of seemingly never-ending platform regulation debates, it is not entirely new. For one segment of content (audiovisual), something like this has been already legislated for. At this very moment, we are witnessing its introduction into practice via the implementation of the provisions on video-sharing platforms (VSPs) in the Audiovisual Media Services Directive (AVMSD). In this commentary, I will explain why the inclusion of VSPs into the AVMSD presents a substantial shift in the approach to content regulation and how a purposeful implementation of the relevant provisions can meaningfully empower users in the digital environment.