EU Parliament passed Digital Services Act, including provisions banning targeted ads based on highly sensitive personal data, limiting dark patterns, and more
and it goes by the name #DSA. [Modified clip from a Clint Eastwood film] @greensefa : We have long campaigned for a fairer internet with less power in the hands of tech giants. Today's result on the @Europarl_EN's position on the Digital Services Act is a big win in the fight. Read our press release: https://www.greens-efa.eu/... #DSA #AFutureWithoutManipulation https://twitter.com/... @docstefflbauer : “Another amendment which passed mirrors provisions to ban ad profiling of minors and prohibit use of highly sensitive personal data (such as racial or ethnic origin, political or religious affiliation, sexuality or health data) for behavioral targeting.” https://techcrunch.com/... @echo_pbreyer : The EU Parliament today sends a clear message to tech giants: your terms and conditions must respect our fundamental rights such as #privacy, #freespeech and #mediafreedom, or else they will be void! #approved https://twitter.com/... @economictimes : The rules could go into effect as early as 2023 as part of Digital Services Act, a measure advanced by European Commission to regulate online content by requiring illegal posts to be taken down and make information about algorithms available to researchers https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/ ... @business : Tech platforms such as Google and Facebook face tighter restrictions on how they target ads to European users https://www.bloomberg.com/... Jim Steyer / @jimsteyer : Historic decision moments ago in the European Parliament voting to stop tech platforms from using personal data for targeting ads. Note to US Congress: Americans, especially our kids, also need protection from profit-centric data exploitation. Time to act. https://www.bloomberg.com/... Subrahmanyam Kvj / @sub8u : Regulators dropping memes should be the only type of regulators. This is the new EU Commissioner in charge of digital policy 😂 https://twitter.com/... Frank Pasquale / @frankpasquale : “Practices the parliament wants outlawed include repeatedly requesting consent after a denial to try to fatigue users into agreeing; ignoring automated opt-outs; and making it significantly more cumbersome to terminate a service vs signing up.” https://techcrunch.com/... Emily Bell / @emilybell : I don't quite know what to do with this PSA from the European markets commissioner...(culturally appropriate version should have Disinformation sitting in a railway car outside Versailles waiting to surrender ...) https://twitter.com/... Shoshana Zuboff / @shoshanazuboff : It's day one of a new era as #530 members of @Europarl_EN begin to steer the Titanic away from the iceberg, shifting power from #SurveillanceCapitalism to people, setting course toward a democratic digital century.@SchaldemoseMEP @mariaressa @resetdottech https://www.europarl.europa.eu/ ... Jason Kint / @jason_kint : Always bring receipts: Google - 23 Facebook - 16 Amazon - 15 https://twitter.com/... https://t.co/5g2JDKoIyA Jason Kint / @jason_kint : OMG. The EU Commissioner in charge of digital policy on eve of one of two new regs being passed taming gatekeepers, just dropped a brilliant meme. When the caption says, “lobbying efforts,” make no mistake that's directed at Google who had its strategy to tame him leaked to FT. https://twitter.com/... Alexandra Geese / @alexandrageese : This is a huge win for European citizens! Online ads will no longer be targeted on minors or based on sensible data #creepyads. Also, if you have browser settings indicating you don't want to be tracked, they will now HAVE to be respected - no more cookie banners! Mike Masnick / @mmasnick : Interesting thread on EU votes regarding the Digital Services Act... https://twitter.com/... @mediasmarts : The new potential EU restrictions on targeted advertising could affect the widely popular marketing practices underpinning tech behemoths' business models and fuelling the advertising industry and traditional media organizations. (via @POLITICOEurope) https://www.politico.eu/... @edri : 3/4 The struggle is not over, now it's time for the European Parliament to consolidate the wins for digital rights that its #DSA position has gathered & defend it decisively in the upcoming negotiations with EU Member States. Thierry Breton / @thierrybreton : 530 votes in favour! ✅ Historic day in the European Parliament with the #DSA The issue at stake: a safer, fairer Internet for all Europeans. Next step: trilogues to adopt the text under the French Presidency of the Council of the EU! https://ec.europa.eu/... Daphne Keller / @daphnehk : DSA update: EU Parliament adopted some anti-targeted-ads provisions at the 11th hour. My hot (yet boring) take is that this deserves a more careful process, since it wasn't part of the Commission's initial, careful inquiry. But who knows, maybe the amendments happen to be fine. https://twitter.com/... Chris Riley / @mchrisriley : 👀 I know everybody's still reeling from the Senate antitrust hearing, but the 586-42 vote in the European Parliament in favor of the DSA is worth your attention, including this provision (particularly given the U.S. surveillance advertising bill). https://t.co/WbFa9imLX8
Context & Ripple Effects
The Parliament’s DSA position extends the EU’s earlier data-protection rulebook from personal-data handling into the way platforms design interfaces, target ads and explain algorithms. It couples restrictions on sensitive-data and minor profiling with limits on manipulative consent flows and a browser-level tracking preference.
Related coverage shows the proposal advancing toward a finalized DSA framework that also tightens content-moderation duties, making the ad and design provisions part of a broader platform-accountability package rather than a standalone privacy measure.
First-order effects
- Social networks and other platforms face limits on targeting based on highly sensitive personal data and on profiling minors, narrowing the audience segments available to their advertising systems.
- Platforms must curb dark patterns, honor browser settings that reject tracking, provide algorithm information to researchers and remove illegal posts under the DSA’s requirements.
Second-order effects
- Platform operators’ consent and advertising flows must shift away from repeated prompts and obscured opt-outs, reducing the role of cookie-banner tactics in retaining trackable users.
- The DSA’s researcher-access requirement makes algorithmic systems a governance and compliance surface alongside ad targeting and content moderation.
Third-order effects
- The EU is assembling a platform-governance model that treats data use, interface design, recommender accountability and illegal-content handling as connected obligations rather than separate policy domains.
- As the later Data Act agreement on consumer and corporate data indicates, rules governing digital businesses are broadening from privacy protections toward controls over how major platforms use data and shape user choices.
The trend: European digital regulation is moving from consent-centered privacy rules toward platform-wide controls over data use, interface design and algorithmic accountability.