Rules for online intermediary services (DSA)
Does your company offer an online intermediary service, such as an online platform, online marketplace, or social media network? Then your service must comply with the rules of the European Digital Services Act (DSA). The DSA aims to prevent the spread if illegal content and keep the online environment safe, reliable, and predictable.
What is an online intermediary service?
An online intermediary service is an online service that allows users to store, disclose, or transmit information, such as text, images and videos on the internet.
Examples of online intermediaries are:
- websites or apps where users can post information, such as online shops, online marketplaces, or social media services
- online data storage services, such as cloud services or web hosting services
- internet infrastructure services (mere conduit services), such as wireless networks, email services, and instant messaging services
Rules for online intermediary services
You must keep to the basic rules for online intermediary services, such as:
- Users and authorities should be able to contact you easily.
- You must be predictable and transparent.
Additional rules apply to different categories of online intermediaries.
Additional rules for hosting services
If you provide a hosting service, you must comply with:
- the basic rules for online intermediary services, and
The additional rules for hosting services concern your efforts to counter illegal content, and that you are clear and predictable about how you assess illegal content.
Is your service a hosting service?
A hosting service under the DSA is for example:
- an online service where users can store their own content (such as a web hosting service or a cloud service)
- a website or app where users can post content (such as images, videos, reviews, or products and services)
Additional rules for online platforms
If you have an online platform, you must comply with:
- the rules for online intermediary services, and
- the additional rules for hosting services, and
The additional rules for online platforms concern, among other things, your complaint-handling system, how you prevent illegal content and how clear you must be about for example advertising and recommendations.
Is your service an online platform?
Your service is an online platform under the DSA if, among others:
- Users can post content on your service (such as images, videos, reviews, or their own products or services).
- The content is stored on your platform and is publicly accessible or accessible with, for example, an account (paid or free).
- The user content is an important or fairly large part of your commercial activities.
Additional rules for online marketplaces
If you provide an online marketplace, you must comply with:
- the rules for online intermediary services, and
- the additional rules for hosting services, and
- the additional rules for online platforms, and
The additional rules for online market places concern, among other things, which information you must obtain from the traders and which information traders must provide to consumers.
Please note: Do you sell products or services online to consumers in the Netherlands? Then the rules for online sales also apply.
Is your service an online marketplace?
Your service is an online marketplace under the DSA if, among other things:
- Traders can post content on your online platform and this content is publicly accessible, or anyone can access it with, for example, an account.
- The products and services of traders are an important or fairly large part of your commercial activities.
- Traders sell products or services to consumers via your platform and communicate with consumers via your service.
Services outside the EU
Are you a provider of an online intermediary service which is accessible in the EU, but you are not established in the EU? You must appoint a legal representative an EU member state. If you do so in the Netherlands, your intermediary service will fall under the Dutch implementation of the DSA. You must share your legal representative’s contact details with the ACM.
Supervision of online intermediary services
The Netherlands Authority for Consumers and Markets (ACM) and the Dutch Data Protection Authority (Autoriteit Persoonsgegevens, AP) supervise intermediary services based in the Netherlands. The European Commission monitors if very large platforms and very larges search engines comply with the rules.