Impact of the Digital Services Act: A Facebook Case Study

In this episode, we're going to discuss a new report from the NATO Strategic Communications Centre of Excellence titled "Impact of the Digital Services Act: A Facebook Case Study". This research set out to measure how the European Union's Digital Services Act, which aims to create a safer online space, has affected the spread of harmful content on Facebook. The study specifically looked at posts from Polish and Lithuanian accounts, comparing content published in 2023 before the DSA's rules applied to large platforms, and content from 2024 after the rules were in effect. The findings offer some critical insights: overall, the study found a notable increase in the total number of harmful posts, particularly in Polish content, although patterns varied by language. Hate speech was identified as the most prevalent type of harmful content, making up over 90% of violations in both years and showing significant growth. Interestingly, while the report found that Facebook increased its efforts in fact-checking content, the rate at which harmful posts were actually removed declined, a trend that was particularly pronounced for content in the Lithuanian language. Join us as we delve into these results, discuss what they reveal about the early impact of the DSA, and explore the ongoing challenges platforms face in managing harmful online content.