DSA recitals

The recitals of Regulation (EU) 2022/2065 set out the reasons for its articles. Official Journal text of 27 October 2022. Retrieved 30 October 2026.

Recital 1Information society services and especially intermediary services have become an important part of the Union’s economy and the daily life of Union citizens.
Recital 2Member States are increasingly introducing, or are considering introducing, national laws on the matters covered by this Regulation, imposing, in particular, diligence requirements for providers of…
Recital 3Responsible and diligent behaviour by providers of intermediary services is essential for a safe, predictable and trustworthy online environment and for allowing Union citizens and other persons to…
Recital 4Therefore, in order to safeguard and improve the functioning of the internal market, a targeted set of uniform, effective and proportionate mandatory rules should be established at Union level.
Recital 5This Regulation should apply to providers of certain information society services as defined in Directive (EU) 2015/1535 of the European Parliament and of the Council (5), that is, any service…
Recital 6In practice, certain providers of intermediary services intermediate in relation to services that may or may not be provided by electronic means, such as remote information technology services…
Recital 7In order to ensure the effectiveness of the rules laid down in this Regulation and a level playing field within the internal market, those rules should apply to providers of intermediary services…
Recital 8Such a substantial connection to the Union should be considered to exist where the service provider has an establishment in the Union or, in the absence of such an establishment, where the number of…
Recital 9This Regulation fully harmonises the rules applicable to intermediary services in the internal market with the objective of ensuring a safe, predictable and trusted online environment, addressing…
Recital 10This Regulation should be without prejudice to other acts of Union law regulating the provision of information society services in general, regulating other aspects of the provision of intermediary…
Recital 11It should be clarified that this Regulation is without prejudice to Union law on copyright and related rights, including Directives 2001/29/EC (21), 2004/48/EC (22) and (EU) 2019/790 (23) of the…
Recital 12In order to achieve the objective of ensuring a safe, predictable and trustworthy online environment, for the purpose of this Regulation the concept of ‘illegal content’ should broadly reflect the…
Recital 13Considering the particular characteristics of the services concerned and the corresponding need to make the providers thereof subject to certain specific obligations, it is necessary to distinguish…
Recital 14The concept of ‘dissemination to the public’, as used in this Regulation, should entail the making available of information to a potentially unlimited number of persons, meaning making the…
Recital 15Where some of the services provided by a provider are covered by this Regulation whilst others are not, or where the services provided by a provider are covered by different sections of this…
Recital 16The legal certainty provided by the horizontal framework of conditional exemptions from liability for providers of intermediary services, laid down in Directive 2000/31/EC, has allowed many novel…
Recital 17The rules on liability of providers of intermediary services set out in this Regulation should only establish when the provider of intermediary services concerned cannot be held liable in relation…
Recital 18The exemptions from liability established in this Regulation should not apply where, instead of confining itself to providing the services neutrally by a merely technical and automatic processing of…
Recital 19In view of the different nature of the activities of ‘mere conduit’, ‘caching’ and ‘hosting’ and the different position and abilities of the providers of the services in question, it is necessary to…
Recital 20Where a provider of intermediary services deliberately collaborates with a recipient of the services in order to undertake illegal activities, the services should not be deemed to have been provided…
Recital 21A provider should be able to benefit from the exemptions from liability for ‘mere conduit’ and for ‘caching’ services when it is in no way involved with the information transmitted or accessed.
Recital 22In order to benefit from the exemption from liability for hosting services, the provider should, upon obtaining actual knowledge or awareness of illegal activities or illegal content, act…
Recital 23The exemption of liability should not apply where the recipient of the service is acting under the authority or the control of the provider of a hosting service.
Recital 24In order to ensure the effective protection of consumers when engaging in intermediated commercial transactions online, certain providers of hosting services, namely online platforms that allow…
Recital 25The exemptions from liability established in this Regulation should not affect the possibility of injunctions of different kinds against providers of intermediary services, even where they meet the…
Recital 26In order to create legal certainty, and not to discourage activities that aim to detect, identify and act against illegal content that providers of all categories of intermediary services undertake…
Recital 27Whilst the rules on liability of providers of intermediary services set out in this Regulation concentrate on the exemption from liability of providers of intermediary services, it is important to…
Recital 28Since 2000, new technologies have emerged that improve the availability, efficiency, speed, reliability, capacity and security of systems for the transmission, ‘findability’ and storage of data…
Recital 29Intermediary services span a wide range of economic activities which take place online and that develop continually to provide for transmission of information that is swift, safe and secure, and to…
Recital 30Providers of intermediary services should not be, neither de jure, nor de facto, subject to a monitoring obligation with respect to obligations of a general nature.
Recital 31Depending on the legal system of each Member State and the field of law at issue, national judicial or administrative authorities, including law enforcement authorities, may order providers of…
Recital 32The applicable Union or national law on the basis of which those orders are issued might require additional conditions and should be the basis for the enforcement of the respective orders.
Recital 33The provider of intermediary services should inform the issuing authority about any follow-up given to such orders without undue delay, in compliance with the time limits set out in relevant Union…
Recital 34Relevant national authorities should be able to issue such orders against content considered illegal or orders to provide information on the basis of Union law or national law in compliance with…
Recital 35The conditions and requirements laid down in this Regulation should be fulfilled at the latest when the order is transmitted to the provider concerned.
Recital 36The territorial scope of such orders to act against illegal content should be clearly set out on the basis of the applicable Union or national law enabling the issuance of the order and should not…
Recital 37The orders to provide information regulated by this Regulation concern the production of specific information about individual recipients of the intermediary service concerned who are identified in…
Recital 38Orders to act against illegal content and to provide information are subject to the rules safeguarding the competence of the Member State in which the service provider addressed is established and…
Recital 39The requirements to provide information on redress mechanisms available to the provider of the intermediary service and to the recipient of the service who provided the content include a requirement…
Recital 40In order to achieve the objectives of this Regulation, and in particular to improve the functioning of the internal market and ensure a safe and transparent online environment, it is necessary to…
Recital 41In that regard, it is important that the due diligence obligations are adapted to the type, size and nature of the intermediary service concerned.
Recital 42In order to facilitate smooth and efficient two-way communications, including, where relevant, by acknowledging the receipt of such communications, relating to matters covered by this Regulation…
Recital 43Providers of intermediary services should also be required to designate a single point of contact for recipients of services, enabling rapid, direct and efficient communication in particular by…
Recital 44Providers of intermediary services that are established in a third country and that offer services in the Union should designate a sufficiently mandated legal representative in the Union and provide…
Recital 45Whilst the freedom of contract of providers of intermediary services should in principle be respected, it is appropriate to set certain rules on the content, application and enforcement of the terms…
Recital 46Providers of intermediary services that are primarily directed at minors, for example through the design or marketing of the service, or which are used predominantly by minors, should make…
Recital 47When designing, applying and enforcing those restrictions, providers of intermediary services should act in a non-arbitrary and non-discriminatory manner and take into account the rights and…
Recital 48Given their special role and reach, it is appropriate to impose on very large online platforms and very large online search engines additional requirements regarding information and transparency of…
Recital 49To ensure an adequate level of transparency and accountability, providers of intermediary services should make publicly available an annual report in a machine-readable format, in accordance with…
Recital 50Providers of hosting services play a particularly important role in tackling illegal content online, as they store information provided by and at the request of the recipients of the service and…
Recital 51Having regard to the need to take due account of the fundamental rights guaranteed under the Charter of all parties concerned, any action taken by a provider of hosting services pursuant to…
Recital 52The rules on such notice and action mechanisms should be harmonised at Union level, so as to provide for the timely, diligent and non-arbitrary processing of notices on the basis of rules that are…
Recital 53The notice and action mechanisms should allow for the submission of notices which are sufficiently precise and adequately substantiated to enable the provider of hosting services concerned to take…
Recital 54Where a provider of hosting services decides, on the ground that the information provided by the recipients is illegal content or is incompatible with its terms and conditions, to remove or disable…
Recital 55Restriction of visibility may consist in demotion in ranking or in recommender systems, as well as in limiting accessibility by one or more recipients of the service or blocking the user from an…
Recital 56A provider of hosting services may in some instances become aware, such as through a notice by a notifying party or through its own voluntary measures, of information relating to certain activity of…
Recital 57To avoid disproportionate burdens, the additional obligations imposed under this Regulation on providers of online platforms, including platforms allowing consumers to conclude distance contracts…
Recital 58Recipients of the service should be able to easily and effectively contest certain decisions of providers of online platforms concerning the illegality of content or its incompatibility with the…
Recital 59In addition, provision should be made for the possibility of engaging, in good faith, in the out-of-court dispute settlement of such disputes, including those that could not be resolved in a…
Recital 60For contractual consumer-to-business disputes regarding the purchase of goods or services, Directive 2013/11/EU ensures that Union consumers and businesses in the Union have access to…
Recital 61Action against illegal content can be taken more quickly and reliably where providers of online platforms take the necessary measures to ensure that notices submitted by trusted flaggers, acting…
Recital 62Trusted flaggers should publish easily comprehensible and detailed reports on notices submitted in accordance with this Regulation.
Recital 63The misuse of online platforms by frequently providing manifestly illegal content or by frequently submitting manifestly unfounded notices or complaints under the mechanisms and systems…
Recital 64Under certain conditions, providers of online platforms should temporarily suspend their relevant activities in respect of the person engaged in abusive behaviour.
Recital 65In view of the particular responsibilities and obligations of providers of online platforms, they should be made subject to transparency reporting obligations, which apply in addition to the…
Recital 66In order to ensure transparency and to enable scrutiny over the content moderation decisions of the providers of online platforms and monitoring the spread of illegal content online, the Commission…
Recital 67Dark patterns on online interfaces of online platforms are practices that materially distort or impair, either on purpose or in effect, the ability of recipients of the service to make autonomous…
Recital 68Online advertising plays an important role in the online environment, including in relation to the provision of online platforms, where the provision of the service is sometimes in whole or in part…
Recital 69When recipients of the service are presented with advertisements based on targeting techniques optimised to match their interests and potentially appeal to their vulnerabilities, this can have…
Recital 70A core part of the online platform’s business is the manner in which information is prioritised and presented on its online interface to facilitate and optimise access to information for the…
Recital 71The protection of minors is an important policy objective of the Union.
Recital 72In order to contribute to a safe, trustworthy and transparent online environment for consumers, as well as for other interested parties such as competing traders and holders of intellectual property…
Recital 73To ensure an efficient and adequate application of that obligation, without imposing any disproportionate burdens, providers of online platforms allowing consumers to conclude distance contracts…
Recital 74Providers of online platforms allowing consumers to conclude distance contracts with traders should design and organise their online interface in a way that enables traders to comply with their…
Recital 75Given the importance of very large online platforms, due to their reach, in particular as expressed in the number of recipients of the service, in facilitating public debate, economic transactions…
Recital 76Very large online platforms and very large online search engines may cause societal risks, different in scope and impact from those caused by smaller platforms.
Recital 77In order to determine the reach of a given online platform or online search engine, it is necessary to establish the average number of active recipients of each service individually.
Recital 78In view of the network effects characterising the platform economy, the user base of an online platform or an online search engine may quickly expand and reach the dimension of a very large online…
Recital 79Very large online platforms and very large online search engines can be used in a way that strongly influences safety online, the shaping of public opinion and discourse, as well as online trade.
Recital 80Four categories of systemic risks should be assessed in-depth by the providers of very large online platforms and of very large online search engines.
Recital 81A second category concerns the actual or foreseeable impact of the service on the exercise of fundamental rights, as protected by the Charter, including but not limited to human dignity, freedom of…
Recital 82A third category of risks concerns the actual or foreseeable negative effects on democratic processes, civic discourse and electoral processes, as well as public security.
Recital 83A fourth category of risks stems from similar concerns relating to the design, functioning or use, including through manipulation, of very large online platforms and of very large online search…
Recital 84When assessing such systemic risks, providers of very large online platforms and of very large online search engines should focus on the systems or other elements that may contribute to the risks…
Recital 85In order to make it possible that subsequent risk assessments build on each other and show the evolution of the risks identified, as well as to facilitate investigations and enforcement actions…
Recital 86Providers of very large online platforms and of very large online search engines should deploy the necessary means to diligently mitigate the systemic risks identified in the risk assessments, in…
Recital 87Providers of very large online platforms and of very large online search engines should consider under such mitigating measures, for example, adapting any necessary design, feature or functioning of…
Recital 88Providers of very large online platforms and of very large online search engines should also be diligent in the measures they take to test and, where necessary, adapt their algorithmic systems, not…
Recital 89Providers of very large online platforms and of very large online search engines should take into account the best interests of minors in taking measures such as adapting the design of their service…
Recital 90Providers of very large online platforms and of very large online search engines should ensure that their approach to risk assessment and mitigation is based on the best available information and…
Recital 91In times of crisis, there might be a need for certain specific measures to be taken urgently by providers of very large online platforms, in addition to measures they would be taking in view of…
Recital 92Given the need to ensure verification by independent experts, providers of very large online platforms and of very large online search engines should be accountable, through independent auditing…
Recital 93The audit report should be substantiated, in order to give a meaningful account of the activities undertaken and the conclusions reached.
Recital 94The obligations on assessment and mitigation of risks should trigger, on a case-by-case basis, the need for providers of very large online platforms and of very large online search engines to assess…
Recital 95Advertising systems used by very large online platforms and very large online search engines pose particular risks and require further public and regulatory supervision on account of their scale and…
Recital 96In order to appropriately monitor and assess the compliance of very large online platforms and of very large online search engines with the obligations laid down by this Regulation, the Digital…
Recital 97This Regulation therefore provides a framework for compelling access to data from very large online platforms and very large online search engines to vetted researchers affiliated to a research…
Recital 98In addition, where data is publicly accessible, such providers should not prevent researchers meeting an appropriate subset of criteria from using this data for research purposes that contribute to…
Recital 99Given the complexity of the functioning of the systems deployed and the systemic risks they present to society, providers of very large online platforms and of very large online search engines…
Recital 100In view of the additional risks relating to their activities and their additional obligations under this Regulation, additional transparency requirements should apply specifically to very large…
Recital 101The Commission should be in possession of all the necessary resources, in terms of staffing, expertise, and financial means, for the performance of its tasks under this Regulation.
Recital 102To facilitate the effective and consistent application of the obligations in this Regulation that may require implementation through technological means, it is important to promote voluntary…
Recital 103The Commission and the Board should encourage the drawing-up of voluntary codes of conduct, as well as the implementation of the provisions of those codes in order to contribute to the application…
Recital 104It is appropriate that this Regulation identify certain areas of consideration for such codes of conduct.
Recital 105The codes of conduct should facilitate the accessibility of very large online platforms and very large online search engines, in compliance with Union and national law, in order to facilitate their…
Recital 106The rules on codes of conduct under this Regulation could serve as a basis for already established self-regulatory efforts at Union level, including the Product Safety Pledge, the Memorandum of…
Recital 107The provision of online advertising generally involves several actors, including intermediary services that connect publishers of advertisements with advertisers.
Recital 108In addition to the crisis response mechanism for very large online platforms and very large online search engines, the Commission may initiate the drawing up of voluntary crisis protocols to…
Recital 109In order to ensure adequate oversight and enforcement of the obligations laid down in this Regulation, Member States should designate at least one authority with the task to supervise the…
Recital 110Given the cross-border nature of the services at stake and the horizontal range of obligations introduced by this Regulation, one authority appointed with the task of supervising the application…
Recital 111The Digital Services Coordinator, as well as other competent authorities designated under this Regulation, play a crucial role in ensuring the effectiveness of the rights and obligations laid down…
Recital 112The competent authorities designated under this Regulation should also act in complete independence from private and public bodies, without the obligation or possibility to seek or receive…
Recital 113Member States can designate an existing national authority with the function of the Digital Services Coordinator, or with specific tasks to supervise the application and enforce this Regulation…
Recital 114Member States should provide the Digital Services Coordinator, and any other competent authority designated under this Regulation, with sufficient powers and means to ensure effective investigation…
Recital 115Member States should set out in their national law, in accordance with Union law and in particular this Regulation and the Charter, the detailed conditions and limits for the exercise of the…
Recital 116In the course of the exercise of those powers, the competent authorities should comply with the applicable national rules regarding procedures and matters such as the need for a prior judicial…
Recital 117Member States should ensure that violations of the obligations laid down in this Regulation can be sanctioned in a manner that is effective, proportionate and dissuasive, taking into account the…
Recital 118In order to ensure effective enforcement of the obligations laid down in this Regulation, individuals or representative organisations should be able to lodge any complaint related to compliance with…
Recital 119Member States should ensure that Digital Services Coordinators can take measures that are effective in addressing and proportionate to certain particularly serious and persistent infringements of…
Recital 120Such an order to restrict access should not go beyond what is necessary to achieve its objective.
Recital 121Without prejudice to the provisions on the exemption from liability provided for in this Regulation as regards the information transmitted or stored at the request of a recipient of the service, a…
Recital 122The Digital Services Coordinator should regularly publish, for example on its website, a report on the activities carried out under this Regulation.
Recital 123In the interest of clarity, simplicity and effectiveness, the powers to supervise and enforce the obligations under this Regulation should be conferred to the competent authorities in the Member…
Recital 124In view of their potential impact and the challenges involved in effectively supervising them, special rules are needed regarding the supervision and enforcement in respect of providers of very…
Recital 125The powers of supervision and enforcement of due diligence obligations, other than the additional obligations to manage systemic risks imposed on providers of very large online platforms and of very…
Recital 126The rules of this Regulation on the allocation of competence should be without prejudice to the provisions of Union law and national rules on private international law concerning jurisdiction and…
Recital 127Given the cross-border and cross-sectoral relevance of intermediary services, a high level of cooperation is necessary to ensure the consistent application of this Regulation and the availability of…
Recital 128The Digital Services Coordinator of destination, in particular on the basis of complaints received or of the input of other national competent authorities where appropriate, or the Board in case of…
Recital 129The Board should be able to refer the matter to the Commission in case of any disagreement as to the assessments or the measures taken or proposed or of a failure to adopt any measures in accordance…
Recital 130In order to facilitate cross-border supervision and investigations of obligations laid down in this Regulation involving several Member States, the Digital Services Coordinators of establishment…
Recital 131In order to ensure a consistent application of this Regulation, it is necessary to set up an independent advisory group at Union level, a European Board for Digital Services, which should support…
Recital 132The Board should contribute to achieving a common Union perspective on the consistent application of this Regulation and to the cooperation among competent authorities, including by advising the…
Recital 133For that purpose, the Board should be able to adopt opinions, requests and recommendations addressed to Digital Services Coordinators or other competent national authorities.
Recital 134The Board should bring together the representatives of the Digital Services Coordinators and possible other competent authorities under the chairmanship of the Commission, with a view to ensuring an…
Recital 135The Commission, through the Chair, should participate in the Board without voting rights.
Recital 136In view of the need to ensure support for the Board’s activities, the Board should be able to rely on the expertise and human resources of the Commission and of the competent national authorities.
Recital 137Given the importance of very large online platforms or very large online search engines, in view of their reach and impact, their failure to comply with the specific obligations applicable to them…
Recital 138The Commission should be able to investigate infringements on its own initiative in accordance with the powers provided for in this Regulation, including by asking access to data, by requesting…
Recital 139In order to effectively perform its tasks, the Commission should maintain a margin of discretion as to the decision to initiate proceedings against providers of very large online platforms or of…
Recital 140In view of both the particular challenges that may arise in seeking to ensure compliance by providers of very large online platforms or of very large online search engines and the importance of…
Recital 141The Commission should be able to request information necessary for the purpose of ensuring the effective implementation of and compliance with the obligations laid down in this Regulation…
Recital 142Interim measures can be an important tool to ensure that, while an investigation is ongoing, the infringement being investigated does not lead to the risk of serious damage for the recipients of the…
Recital 143The Commission should be able to take the necessary actions to monitor the effective implementation of and compliance with the obligations laid down in this Regulation.
Recital 144Compliance with the relevant obligations imposed under this Regulation should be enforceable by means of fines and periodic penalty payments.
Recital 145Given the potential significant societal effects of an infringement of the additional obligations to manage systemic risks that solely apply to very large online platforms and very large online…
Recital 146The provider of the very large online platform or of the very large online search engine concerned and other persons subject to the exercise of the Commission’s powers whose interests may be…
Recital 147In order to safeguard the harmonised application and enforcement of this Regulation, it is important to ensure that national authorities, including national courts, have all necessary information to…
Recital 148The effective enforcement and monitoring of this Regulation requires a seamless and real-time exchange of information among the Digital Services Coordinators, the Board and the Commission, based on…
Recital 149Without prejudice to the rights of recipients of services to turn to a representative in accordance with the Directive (EU) 2020/1828 of the European Parliament and of the Council (33) or to any…
Recital 150In the interest of effectiveness and efficiency, the Commission should carry out a general evaluation of this Regulation.
Recital 151In order to ensure uniform conditions for the implementation of this Regulation, implementing powers should be conferred on the Commission to lay down templates concerning the form, content and…
Recital 152In order to fulfil the objectives of this Regulation, the power to adopt acts in accordance with Article 290 TFEU should be delegated to the Commission to supplement this Regulation, in respect of…
Recital 153This Regulation respects the fundamental rights recognised by the Charter and the fundamental rights constituting general principles of Union law.
Recital 154Given the scope and impact of societal risks that may be caused by very large online platforms and very large online search engines, the need to address those risks as a matter of priority and the…
Recital 155Since the objectives of this Regulation, namely to contribute to the proper functioning of the internal market and to ensure a safe, predictable and trusted online environment in which the…
Recital 156The European Data Protection Supervisor was consulted in accordance with Article 42(1) of Regulation (EU) 2018/1725 of the European Parliament and of the Council (36) and delivered an opinion on 10…