My journey with the EU Digital Services Act—an account of perseverance for platform accountability
IMS Advisor Colette Wahlqvist explains why IMS has chosen to take inspiration from EU policy to support its media partners in Georgia, Moldova and Ukraine
Through the fall of 2024, I have carried a copy of the EU Digital Services Act (DSA) in my shoulder bag at all times. I referred to it daily and learned to read many of its detailed provisions together to make sense of this complex regulation.
I have had to be on my game to facilitate IMS’ High Level Expert Group for Resilience Building in Eastern Europe, a distinguished set of practitioners and academics in the field of online regulation from Eastern Partnership Countries, the EU and globally, who were selected to explore different modalities of fighting disinformation.
The purpose of convening this circle of experts has been to develop measures for the promotion of a safe digital space that fosters inclusive democratic dialogue, encourages civic participation and safeguards human rights in three EU candidate countries: Georgia, Moldova and Ukraine.
The DSA was chosen as inspirative legislation for these countries because of its comprehensive approach to addressing systemic risks that stems from the design, function or use of digital platforms.
This methodology is important because it aims to address underlying issues by identifying patterns and trends, as opposed to focusing on isolated incidents.
Absent of prohibition on specific types of content, the DSA instead focuses on how online platforms should explain their moderation practices and these explanations come in the form of a legal obligation to carry out a risk assessment.
IMS has prioritized accountability of the dominant tech companies to help our media partners rise above the seas of mis- and disinformation that proliferate on platforms. We acknowledge these platforms as focal points for establishing a more conducive environment for media to navigate, and also essential to a whole-of-society approach for resilience building.
A shared strategic vision between media, civil society, government agencies, academia, justice administration institutions and these businesses is essential for building trust, fostering informed and inclusive dialogue—and central to our mandate at IMS.
As IMS’ High Level Expert Group for Resilience Building in Eastern Europe is set to finalize its guidance and recommendations in the coming weeks, I have a strong feeling that I will continue carrying around the 102-pages on my regular commute. This may just be the tip of the iceberg in how we take inspiration from the DSA—and possibly other EU regulations—for the betterment of public interest media.
For more information about the High Level Expert Group:
