Digital Services Act Stakeholder Event

The event took place at the Square, Mont des Arts/Kunstberg, B-1000 Brussels.

Video recordings of the event and all its panels are available in the below links for morning, lunch and afternoon workshops. 

After a welcome speech by Roberto Viola, Director General, DG CONNECT, the DSA Stakeholder event commenced with an opening plenary panel addressing the critical issue of social media's impact on young people's mental health and exploring evidence-based insights and the responsibilities of online platforms. It was moderated by Lauren Mason, Policy and Advocacy Manager at the European Youth Forum and speakers included Professor Grégoire Borst, University of Paris and Professor Patti Valkenburg, University of Amsterdam .

We counted with a diverse selection of 14 engaging workshops, each exploring different facets of the DSA. All workshops were accessible through online streaming.

·       The morning sessions addressed topics such as gender-based violence, online marketplaces, mental well-being, privacy, and data science.

·       During the lunch workshops, we delved into online hate and extremism, intellectual property rights, protection of minors, global implications of the DSA, and data access for researchers.

·       The afternoon workshops covered themes such as freedom of expression and media pluralism, dark patterns and advertising, disinformation, as well as risk assessments and algorithms.

In the closing plenary, the focus shifted to the systemic political risks posed by social media platforms to our democratic values and processes. The session was moderated by Rita Wezenbeek, Director Platforms, DG CONNECT and took stock of the lessons learned in the last years, including achievements and remaining challenges for policymakers. Speakers included Professor Michael Bang Petersen, Aarhus University, Anna Gielewska, journalist investigating organised disinformation and Alicia Wanless, Director of the Partnership for Countering Influence Operations at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace.

The event presented a forward-thinking exchange on how the Digital Services Act can foster a vibrant, egalitarian, and inclusive online democracy placing protection of fundamental rights firmly at the core. 

More information

Report summarising the discussions that took place during the event