Ensuring human rights-based, global perspectives in the DSA enforcement: the DSA Human Rights Alliance’s guidelines

From legislation to enforcement

The EU’s Digital Services Act (DSA) was created to make the internet a safer space, hold online platforms accountable for moderation and other processes, and give users more control over their online personal experience. The law has ramifications beyond EU borders and is influencing digital governance policy discussions and proposed legislation around the world. As such, it’s imperative that DSA implementation practices take into account the perspectives of non-EU civil society and users to ensure a human rights-based approach to platform governance.

The DSA Human Rights Alliance, a global coalition of civil society organizations, researchers, and human rights advocates representing diverse communities across the globe, recently released “Principles for a Human Rights-Centred Application of the Digital Services Act: A Global Perspective” to guide the European Commission, national policymakers and regulators as the DSA moves from legislation to enforcement. The eight principles call for considering the cross-border effects of DSA enforcement and empowering diverse groups to enforce users’ rights, and providing input during enforcement actions. This will ensure the law is applied in ways that respect international human rights standards and reflect perspectives from across regions.  

Responding to the “Brussels Effect” of DSA enforcement  

Like the EU General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), the DSA already shows signs of a Brussels Effect whereby the regulation inspires platform regulatory standards outside the EU and shapes the content moderation practices of online platforms globally. This influence will affect immediately EU Candidate States, which are required to fully incorporate the provisions of the Act into their national laws. The DSA’s core pillars, such as the designation of trusted flaggers (entities granted priority channels to report illegal content), the platform due diligence related to systemic risks, the calibration of platform liability for user-generated content, the mandates on data access, and the considerations for freedom of expression rights, all have a cross-regional dimension beyond the EU.  

This level of influence requires an equally careful and informed approach to DSA enforcement to ensure that fundamental rights are being protected. The principles outlined in this guide envision a DSA enforcement playbook that puts civil society and human rights defenders on equal footing with EU stakeholders on rights-focused elements of the DSA. This approach brings diverse groups to the table to help safeguard the protection of fundamental rights in the EU and beyond. Civil society organisations and other groups with regional expertise outside the EU are well placed to understand the threats to human rights that must be addressed by laws regulating online platforms. This kind of expertise can help inform DSA enforcement and be useful when DSA and its provision are considered for local regulatory frameworks.  

The eight principles developed by the Alliance are not isolated ideas. Together, they address the fundamental need to integrate global perspectives into DSA enforcement models. They call for the incorporation ofglobal realities into DSA enforcement by creating inclusive, transparent, and regionally-adapted participatory processes; empowering civil society and affected communities to bring court and enforcement actions; fostering collaboration and multi-stakeholder approaches in cross-regional dialogues; safeguarding fundamental rights and the rule of law, and ensuring transparency and evidence-based oversight. 

Taking an inclusive approach to DSA compliance 

The DSA Human Rights Alliance recognises that some DSA provisions embrace the protection of fundamental rights, safeguarding the interests of marginalised groups and empowering researchers to advocate for proportionate governance standards. Other provisions, however, are less clear-cut and present opportunities to develop abusive, politicised enforcement that threaten the rights the Act should protect. The Alliance believes this calls for an inclusive and cautious approach to enforcement, and underscores why meaningful inclusion in policymaking and DSA enforcement to ensure human rights protections is central.  

The Alliance was formed around the idea that the DSA must adopt a human rights-based approach to platform governance, and that EU policymakers should account for the Act’s global footprint. Alliance members have first-hand knowledge about why this is so important, with many non-EU and local organisations operating in the Global Majority and rights groups working on behalf of historically oppressed and vulnerable groups.

These members have experienced how digital regulations can result in unintended harm when they lack robust safeguards, and they can offer necessary expertise to ensure that the DSA’s influence reinforces, rather than erodes, fundamental rights. Ultimately, all internet rules tend to transcend across borders, especially when legislation originates from powerful bodies like the EU.  

The Alliance is convinced that by focusing on human rights protections globally and taking an inclusive approach to DSA enforcement, the EU can set a positive global example of lawmaking.  

The voice of civil society and affected communities

Regulators need to hear from civil society and affected communities to better understand the global implications of platform governance regulations that originate in the EU. Empowering non-EU and EU civil society organizations meaningfully to participate in all levels of rights-focused DSA enforcement and accountability processes will help ensure that the practical application of the DSA serves the public interest and supports fundamental rights for all, especially vulnerable and marginalised groups.

The Alliance urges the European Commission, as well as national policymakers and regulators who implement parts of the DSA, to consider the outlined principles. Similarly, the Alliance encourages regulators in other regions that look to the DSA as a reference framework , as well as ainternational bodies concerned with the implications of DSA enforcement to review this set of recommendations.

These principles have been signed by thirty civil society organisations, researchers and independent experts, and further support from other organisations is encouraged.

Contribution by: Christoph Schmon, International Policy Director & Karen Gullo, Senior Writer for Free Speech and Privacy, EDRi member, Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF)