Fri Aug 25, 2023 – 1:34 pm EDT
(LifeSiteNews) — The European Union’s (EU) “Digital Services Act” (DSA) has taken effect today, granting the European Commission power to censor “disinformation” and “hate speech” online.
As of August 25, large online platforms operating in Europe will have to abide by the rules laid out in the DSA, or face an immense fine of up to 6 percent of their annual global revenue.
The EU Commissioner for Internal Market, Thierry Breton, even threatened to shut down social media platforms if they do not comply with the rules in the case of civil unrest, like the recent riots in France.
“We would have teams that could intervene immediately,” Breton said in an interview. “If those responsible didn’t act immediately, we could not only fine them but also ban the operation of the platforms in our territory.”
READ: Macron suggests French gov’t should ‘cut off’ social media during violent riots
Online networks with more than 45 million European users will be immediately affected by the DSA; this includes Amazon, Facebook, Instagram, Google, YouTube, Wikipedia, and X/Twitter, among others. Smaller online platforms must abide by the DSA rules beginning in 2024.
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