New Global Alliance Calls on European Parliament to Make the Digital Services Act a Model Set of Internet Regulations Protecting Human Rights and Freedom of Expression

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The European Parliament’s regulations and policy-making decisions on technology and the internet have unique influence across the globe. With great influence comes great responsibility. We believe the European Parliament (EP) has a duty to set an example with the Digital Services Act (DSA), the first major overhaul of European internet regulations in 20 years. The EP should show that the DSA can address tough challenges—hate speech, misinformation, and users’ lack of control on big platforms—without compromising human rights protections, free speech and expression rights, and users’ privacy and security.

Balancing these principles is complex, but imperative. A step in the wrong direction could reverberate around the world, affecting fundamental rights beyond European Union borders. To this end, 12 civil society organizations from around the globe, standing for transparency, accountability, and human rights-centered lawmaking, have formed the Digital Services Act Human Rights Alliance to establish and promote a world standard for internet platform governance. The Alliance is comprised of digital and human rights advocacy organization representing diverse communities across the globe, including in the Arab world, Europe, United Nations member states, Mexico, Syria, and the U.S.

In its first action towards this goal, the Alliance today is calling on the EP to embrace a human rights framework for the DSA and take steps to ensure that it protects access to information for everyone, especially marginalized communities, rejects inflexible and unrealistic take down mandates that lead to over-removals and impinge on free expression, and strengthen mandatory human rights impact assessments so issues like faulty algorithm decision-making is identified before people get hurt.

This call to action follows a troubling round of amendments approved by an influential EP committee that crossed red l

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