The European Commission adopted the first designation decisions under the Digital Services Act (DSA), designating 17 Very Large Online Platforms (VLOPs) and 2 Very Large Online Search Engines (VLOSEs) that reach at least 45 million monthly active users.
Very Large Online Platforms (average monthly active users in the EU under DSA):
Alibaba AliExpress (above 45 million)
Amazon Store (above 45 million)
Apple AppStore (above 45 million)
Booking.com (over 45 million)
Facebook (255 million)
Google Play (274.6 million)
Google Maps (278.6 million)
Google Shopping (74.9 million)
Instagram (250 million)
LinkedIn (over 120 million)
Pinterest (120 million)
Snapchat (96.8 million)
TikTok (100.9 million)
Twitter (100.9 million)
Wikipedia (over 45 million)
YouTube (401.7 million)
Zalando (over 45 million)
Very Large Online Search Engines:
Bing (107 million)
Google Search (332 million)
The designated VLOPs and VLOSEs have four months to comply with special obligations of the DSA. Among these obligations they have to establish a point of contact, report criminal offenses, have user-friendly terms of conditions, and be transparent as regards advertising, recommender systems or content moderation decisions. Other service providers will need to comply with the DSA from 17 February 2024.
Due to their size the VLOPs and VLOSEs can have potential impact on society, therefore these providers need to comply with the obligations set by section five of the DSA on due-diligence obligations, on top of the other relevant provisions. This means that they must identify, analyse, and assess systemic risks as illegal content, fundamental rights (freedom of expression, media freedom and pluralism), discrimination, consumer protection and children’s rights, public security and electoral processes, gender-based violence, public health, protection of minors, and mental and physical wellbeing.
VLOPs and VLOSEs are also obliged to put measures like adapting the design or functioning of their services or changing their recommender systems in place that mitigate the identified and reported risks.
For more information: EU official journal text on the DSA
