What is Illegal Content?
Under the DSA, illegal content means any information that is not in compliance with Union law or national law, regardless of the precise subject matter or nature of that law.
Categories of Illegal Content
- Child sexual abuse material
- Terrorist content
- Illegal hate speech
- Non-consensual sharing of intimate images
- Intellectual property infringements
- Counterfeit goods
- Non-compliant products
- Consumer protection violations
- Defamation
Notice and Action Mechanism
The DSA establishes standardized notice and action procedures for reporting and addressing illegal content. Hosting services must provide easy-to-access mechanisms for notifying them of illegal content.
Valid notices must include:
- Explanation of why content is considered illegal
- Exact location of the content (URL)
- Contact details of the notifying party
- Statement of good faith belief
Provider Obligations
Upon receiving a notice, providers must act in a timely manner, taking into account the type and urgency of the content (e.g., child abuse material requires immediate action).