The Role of Requests for Information in Governing Digital Platforms Under the Digital Services Act: The Case of X
Abstract
:1. Introduction
2. The Problems Raised by Opacity
3. The Content and Consequences of a Request for Information
4. Next Steps of the Enforcement Process
5. The Intertwined Role of ECAT, DG Connect and External Contractors
6. Conclusions
Funding
Institutional Review Board Statement
Informed Consent Statement
Data Availability Statement
Conflicts of Interest
1 | European Commission (n.d.-b) provides an outline of the pyramidal governance framework established by the DSA for intermediary services, hosting services and online platforms: https://commission.europa.eu/strategy-and-policy/priorities-2019-2024/europe-fit-digital-age/digital-services-act_en (accessed on 18 December 2023). |
2 | Regulatory guidelines are emerging to direct compliance in certain areas, such as the Code of Conduct on Disinformation, which was approved on 13 February 2025 (European Commission, 2025c). When its commitments are aligned with related DSA articles, the Code “represents a further operational and complementary layer, including reporting obligations, on top of existing legal obligations” (European Commission, 2025a) and therefore constitutes a compliance benchmark for its signatories, including VLOPs. However, the adoption of the Code is voluntary and not following it does not create a prejudice on the evaluation of compliance. |
3 | Notably, the webpage corresponding to this reference, which detailed ECAT’s teams (Research and Algorithms & Inspections) with the names of their respective members, has been recently removed or hidden, pointing to a voluntary reduction in transparency about the organisational structure of this research centre. |
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Fabbri, M. The Role of Requests for Information in Governing Digital Platforms Under the Digital Services Act: The Case of X. Journal. Media 2025, 6, 41. https://doi.org/10.3390/journalmedia6010041
Fabbri M. The Role of Requests for Information in Governing Digital Platforms Under the Digital Services Act: The Case of X. Journalism and Media. 2025; 6(1):41. https://doi.org/10.3390/journalmedia6010041
Chicago/Turabian StyleFabbri, Matteo. 2025. "The Role of Requests for Information in Governing Digital Platforms Under the Digital Services Act: The Case of X" Journalism and Media 6, no. 1: 41. https://doi.org/10.3390/journalmedia6010041
APA StyleFabbri, M. (2025). The Role of Requests for Information in Governing Digital Platforms Under the Digital Services Act: The Case of X. Journalism and Media, 6(1), 41. https://doi.org/10.3390/journalmedia6010041