Digital Services Act: Technical support for online marketplaces and advertising
This assignment, led by Verian Brussels, aims to support the European Commission in monitoring compliance with the Digital Services Act (DSA) provisions concerning online marketplaces and advertising. The project focuses specifically on assessing how Very Large Online Platforms (VLOPs) and Very Large Online Search Engines (VLOSEs) comply with transparency requirements in online advertising and obligations related to verification of traders and handling of illegal products on marketplaces. This monitoring will provide evidence to the Commission in its role as primary enforcer of the DSA for designated entities.
Three main tasks
PPMI’s contribution focuses on three main tasks: horizon scanning, desk research, and case study development. The annual horizon scanning report overviews the current and emerging trends and signals of change in the online sales of illegal goods and the advertising market. Based on a literature review and in-depth interviews, PPMI also prepared three desk research reports exploring the role of influencers and recommender systems in the promotion of illegal goods and services on marketplaces, as well as technical solutions used for enhancing product traceability. Currently, the research team is implementing three case studies, which aim to collect hands-on data and insights on how rogue traders and social media influencers evade VLOPs’ moderation.
Multiple complementary approaches
Other methods leveraged in the study include a combination of multiple complementary approaches to gather robust evidence of compliance: systematic review of platforms' documentation and processes against a structured indicator framework; analysis of advertisement repositories' content using advanced analytics; web scraping of marketplace content to assess trader information and product listings; and mystery shopping to test user experience from both consumer and business user perspectives. This comprehensive methodology allows for measuring compliance at the level of processes put in place by platforms, outputs of these processes, as well as actual results and user experience.