EU tightens requirements for social networks and other resources

Today, August 25, a new European Union law on internet safety comes into force. It will require major online platforms to combat hate speech, bullying, and other issues that can harm people or threaten their privacy.

Protection against low-quality products

The first thing that the new legislation highlights is the regulation of transparency and legality of the purchase of goods or services. Now large trading platforms will have to clearly and accurately label prohibited and fake goods, as well as services of inappropriate quality. Users will also be able to clearly understand from whom they are buying a particular product.

Fighting cyber bullying

This issue will affect social networking in particular, as this is where cyberbullying is most widely spread. Now all images, personal information, publications with the purpose of bullying or humiliation can be removed if the victim did not give permission and consent to their placement.

Restriction of advertising

This is something that a lot of people have been waiting for a long time. From now on, Internet resources will have to label advertisements and give the user information about why he or she is seeing a particular ad.

Advertising based on sexual orientation, nationality, race, or religion will be banned, and any advertising to minors based on their personal data will be completely prohibited.

Moderating decisions

Many people have faced situations where a social network or other platform has deleted published content, based on the rules. In 90% of cases, it has been almost impossible to appeal such a decision. Now it will be easy to complain about a moderator's decision and restore justice.

Clear rules

The previous issue is impossible without changing the concept of providing user agreements. Now, instead of text written in tiny fonts that few people even try to read, resources will be required to provide a clear and simple summary of the key points without complicated legal formulations.

All the changes described above will primarily affect such giants as Facebook, Instagram, Snapchat, TikTok, Amazon, and Google. However, we should expect that the requirements will eventually apply to smaller online resources as well.