Brussels: Europe and the Arabs

The Commission sent formal requests for information under the Digital Services Act (DSA) to 17 identified very large online platforms and search engines (VLOPs and VLOSEs) on 25 April 2023, namely AliExpress, Amazon Store, AppStore, Bing, Booking.com, Facebook and Google Search. Google Play, Google Maps, Google Shopping, Instagram, LinkedIn, Pinterest, Snapchat, TikTok, YouTube, and Zalando. VLOPs and VLOSEs are required to provide further information on the measures they have taken to comply with the obligation to provide access, without undue delay, to publicly accessible data on their online interface to qualified researchers.
According to a statement issued by the Commission in Brussels, researchers’ access to data is key to ensuring accountability and public scrutiny of platform policies. Researchers' access to publicly available data contributes significantly to achieving the goals of the DSA, which is particularly important in light of upcoming events such as elections at national and EU level, as well as for the ongoing monitoring of the presence of illegal content and goods on the Internet. Platforms.
The 17 VLOPs and VLOSEs must submit the requested information to the Commission by 8 February 2024*. Based on the evaluation of responses, the Commission will determine the next steps.
Having been classified as very large online platforms or search engines, the 17 VLOPs and VLOSEs must comply with the full set of provisions introduced by the DSA, including the data access requirement.
It is noteworthy that on 18 December 2023, the Commission opened formal infringement proceedings against VLOP