The Software and Information Industry Association (SIIA) issued the following statement attributed to Jeff Joseph, President, regarding the provisional agreement announced today on the Digital Services Act (DSA) between the European Council and the European Parliament:
“SIIA supports reasonable and balanced efforts to ensure online platforms combat disinformation, hate speech and illegal activities across their sites, remain safe communities for their users and foster a healthy digital ecosystem. Yet details matter. While many specific elements of the DSA are unknown, we are concerned the law would have unintended negative consequences across the global digital economy if not carefully and properly implemented and aligned to existing data regulation and laws. While targeted at big tech, the proposed expansive regulations could have devastating ripple effects on small- and medium-sized companies that depend on large tech platforms and the millions of users who rely on these platforms to communicate.
“The final regulations must strike the critical balance among combatting illicit and illegal content, protecting privacy, promoting innovation, and preserving free speech. We look forward to reviewing the details of the final regulations.”
