The Digital Services Act is a new European Union directive that aims to make online environments safer, fairer and more transparent. The UK is now outside the EU, so the rules do not directly apply to Welsh or British businesses. But, as they are our nearest neighbours and a large trading partner, many sectors will comply in order to maintain trade with the EU. These policies will also influence UK politicians, and the current government is already expanding its own digital regulation through the Online Safety Act.
The DSA rolled out across the EU on February 17, and many UK businesses have already set up compliance. Specifically, advertising standards. As the UK is a tech-reliant service economy for the most part, having a international customer base is standard for online businesses – so adhering to major global regulatory shifts is important. These changes, especially if the UK government decides to follow some of them domestically, could result in some significant differences in the online landscape across the UK. This is what you need to know about it.
This EU Legislation Doesn’t Directly Apply to Wales but Things Will Change
The main area of change will be for social media and e-commerce platforms, but seeing as lots of other businesses are reliant or connected to these two sectors, there will be knock-on effects.
For example, large tech companies in the US and elsewhere still often blanket Wales and the UK more widely into the same European rules bucket. So users of big US-based social media platforms, or even smaller independent ones based in the UK or Europe, might start to see changes, including:
- The ability to opt out of personalised algorithms
- More labelling and transparency on social media ads
- More reporting options, and swifter action if illegal or harmful content is ignored
The impact of the DSA will be most visible in sectors that handle sensitive user data or require strict age and financial verification. This includes industries like digital banking, healthcare services, and online entertainment. In these highly regulated spaces, transparency is no longer optional.
This is particularly evident in the case of a regulated online casino, which must now ensure its licensing credentials and responsible gaming tools are clearly visible and easily verifiable within any digital advertisement. By grouping these sectors under stricter transparency rules, the DSA, and the UK’s similar Online Safety Act aim to give Welsh consumers the confidence that the platforms they interact with are legitimate and audited.
The Digital Services Act could have implications for how European and UK gambling businesses market themselves on social media across the continent. Although the UK already has some regulations in place specifically on gambling advertising, the DSA is tightening rules on reporting and hosting advertising for illegal content.
What Key Changes and Introductions Are Involved?
Under the DSA several things will be banned. Advertising to children using targeted data will be illegal, as will be advertising based on sensitive data such as religion or sexual orientation. Dark patterns in website design – that aim to trick consumers into choices they didn’t intend to make – will also be banned.
Other regulations aim to make big tech more transparent. Adverts must be more clearly labelled, including explainers if the ad was specifically targeted to the user’s demographic. Online marketplaces now have to verify sellers and post clear contact information for buyers, to reduce the risk of fraud and deceptive marketing.
Online platforms will now also have to explain moderation decisions. If your account is banned or your post removed, EU citizens now have the right to an explanation as to why – and you can send it to a human-considered appeal if you feel it wasn’t justified.
How Welsh Consumers Will Be Affected and What the UK is Doing Independently
Parents whose children use YouTube or YouTube Kids, increasingly very common across the UK, should find no more targeted advertising based specifically on their child’s online interests. The platform will also be making it easier to report harmful or illegal content if it is stumbled across, and they will face fines if they don’t act quickly to remove it.
YouTube Europe – despite having major offices in London – is actually based in Ireland, so it will be following these new EU rules.
If you have a post removed on social media or your account is banned on a major marketplace, you may now have a full right of explanation and appeal under the law. Most EU-wide platforms like eBay and Etsy will be applying this to UK customers.
These kinds of regulations will fuel the fire of those calling for the UK to implement its own reform of online safety laws. The EU recently took online retailer Shein to court. The UK recently challenged X over its Grok AI. It was used to create sexualised deepfakes. These regulatory changes, and a willingness to enforce them, are emboldening national governments to take on big corporations.
In the UK, the Prime Minister Kier Starmer is reportedly soon set to announce a crackdown on illegal and harmful content on social media platforms as well as AI chatbots – potentially threatening to block them domestically if they don’t comply.
The Government has faced much controversy in some other areas of digital safety, though, not least over its recent decision to force visitors to pornography sites to upload a photo of ID for verification.
