In the early hours of Saturday morning, the European Union (EU) approved a law that would allow authorities to impose a state of emergency on social media sites, search engines, and online marketplaces.
The “crisis mechanism” was among a long set of rules in the Digital Services Act, which aims to make the internet safer. Prompted by Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, it will give authorities in the bloc significant influence over how major tech platforms with more than 45 million EU users, such as Facebook, TikTok, and Amazon, are run during pandemics and wars.
“It was agreed that when a crisis occurs, such as a public security or health threat, the Commission may require very large platforms to limit any urgent threats on its platforms,” says Henna Virkkunen, a Finnish member of European Parliament (MEP) from the European People's Party, who took part in the negotiations.