The EU's Digital Services Act

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Rules for platforms in the EU

Kai reads the EU's Digital Services Act (DSA). It covers services that store and share what users post, for users in the EU, wherever the company is based. Shard Garden stores players' levels and shows them to the public, so the DSA calls it an online platform.

Notice, then reasons

Article 16: a way for "any individual or entity" to report "illegal content", "easy to access and user-friendly".

Article 17: when the studio removes or hides something a player posted, that player gets "a clear and specific statement of reasons".

Quick check

Remy removes a player's shared level for breaking Shard Garden's rules. What does the DSA say the player gets?

  1. A clear and specific statement of the reasons
  2. Nothing: the studio decides
  3. A refund
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A clear and specific statement of the reasons

Article 17 covers removals for illegal content and for breaking the studio's own terms.

Duties grow with the studio

Article 19: the extra duties for online platforms "shall not apply" to "micro or small enterprises", and not for 12 months after a company stops being one. The EU counts a company as small with fewer than 50 staff and €10 million or less of turnover or balance sheet.

Minors

One of those extra duties, Article 28: a platform "accessible to minors" must ensure "a high level of privacy, safety, and security of minors". It may not show a player ads "based on profiling" when it is "aware with reasonable certainty" that the player is a minor.

Small or not?

Shard Garden
staff      60turnover   €8 million

Theo checks the studio's size. Is it still a small enterprise?

  1. No: it has 50 staff or more
  2. Yes: turnover is under €10 million
  3. Yes: games are always small
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No: it has 50 staff or more

Small means fewer than 50 staff as well. At 60, the studio is not small, so the extra duties, Article 28 among them, apply after the 12 months.

Fines

Article 52: the most a fine can be is "6 % of the annual worldwide turnover of the provider of intermediary services concerned in the preceding financial year."

Quick check

Shard Garden's turnover last year was €8 million. What is the most a DSA fine could be?

  1. €480,000
  2. €8 million
  3. €80,000
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€480,000

6% of €8 million is €480,000.

Quick check

The DSA applies only to companies based in the EU.

Show the answer

False

It covers services offered to users in the EU, wherever the company is based.

Players' own rights

Players also have rights over their own data.

Bolt says: Next: data requests.

Fact-checked 12 October 2026