Together with the General Product Safety Regulation (GPSR), the Digital Services Act better protects consumers against illegal goods and services, for example requiring marketplaces to know who the sellers on their platforms are, which was previously not the case. In addition, it will also no longer be possible for platforms to display adverts based on profiling using children’s personal data or a person’s sensitive data, such as their sexual orientation or their political opinions.

Why it’s important

We spend more and more of our time online – from shopping to how we entertain ourselves – and this has created imbalances where we are better protected offline than online. Consumers are at greater risk of purchasing illegal goods from online marketplaces rather than bricks-and-mortar shops. Consumers also had little say over what they are shown online, including advertising.

What did BEUC do

BEUC compiled tests from a variety of its members to show the situation was out of control. For example, out of 250 electrical goods, toys, cosmetics, and other products bought from online marketplaces, two-thirds of them failed safety tests. The possible consequences could include electric shock, fire, or suffocation. What’s worse, even when products were taken down from websites, they could easily re-appear online a few weeks later.

As part of a package of laws meant to rebalance digital markets and online content, the European Union passed the Digital Services Act which lays down obligations for online platforms, marketplaces included, to make online users safer.