The European Commission has formally requested Apple among other tech firms to provide information about the companies’ efforts to combat content deemed as “illegal” by the European Union, according to Reuters.
The Commission has launched its probe under the EU’s Digitial Services Act (DSA), a separate set of regulations from the Digital Markets Act (DMA) which came into effect in November 2022. Under the DSA, the Union is granted powers to request information from tech companies over their efforts to address and limit “illegal content and risks to public security.”
The Union has requested that the named companies provide details by February 9 regarding the steps they have implemented to allow researchers access to certain data related to the upcoming EU and member states elections. Additionally, Apple and others are expected to address efforts in combating the circulation of illegal content and goods through online platforms.
So far, DSA requests have been sent to AliExpress, Amazon’s Amazon Store, Apple’s App Store, Booking.com, Meta’s Facebook and Instagram, Alphabet’s Google Search, Google Play, Google Maps and Google Shopping, Microsoft’s LinkedIn and Bing, Pinterest, Snapchat, TikTok, YouTube and Zalando.
The DSA was first used last December to launch an investigation into X over its alleged complacency in allowing illegal data to be easily created and shared on the Elon Musk-owned platform.
