Counterbalancing digital platforms' opinion power: the digital services act and complementary regulations

Information distribution channels have become increasingly concentrated in the hands of a few large platforms, which have emerged as crucial intermediaries in today’s public sphere. By intermediating a significant share of global interactions, platforms can unilaterally determine the functioning of information flows. This gatekeeping role concerns not only commercial exchanges but also latu sensu political information, conferring upon platforms an opinion power comparable to that of traditional media industries such as broadcasters. Similarly to these actors, platforms possess the power to select which content reaches the audience, thereby shaping the formation of public opinion. Content selection is performed through extensive filtering activities that determine which third-party information is excluded or prioritised. Democracies have traditionally regulated opinion power to promote the public interest in a plural, rich, unbiased and transparent public debate. A similar goal of aligning the digital environment closer to the public interest and democratic values has been pursued at the European Union level through the adoption of certain pioneering regulatory frameworks. These include the GDPR, adopted in 2016 to foster the protection of the fundamental right to privacy online, the Digital Services Package, the Media Freedom Act, the Regulation on Transparency and Targeting of Political Advertising, and the AI Act. This research has the purpose to assess the role of these frameworks in limiting digital platforms’ unilateral control on information flows.