Digital Transparency

The complainant asked the European Commission for public access to the risk assessment report of a large social media company on its compliance with the provisions of the Digital Services Act (DSA) – annual reporting is part of the obligations of ‘very large online platforms’ under the Act. The Commission refused access to the document, arguing that it could be generally presumed that disclosure could undermine the commercial interests of the company in question as well as an ongoing investigation into the company’s compliance with the DSA. The Commission did not individually assess the report for possible disclosure.

The Ombudsman concluded that the Commission’s application of a general presumption of non-disclosure to the risk assessment report constituted maladministration. She recommended that the Commission conduct an individual assessment of the document with a view to granting the widest access possible.

Source: The European Commission’s refusal to give public access to the risk assessment report of a large social media company on its compliance with the provisions of the Digital Services Act | Case | European Ombudsman

“In his opinion, Advocate General Athanasios Rantos proposes that the Court of Justice dismiss both appeals and uphold the judgments of the General Court”, the court said in a statement, adding that Rantos said in his non-binding opinion that the General Court “did not err in law in assessing the necessity of the information requested or in examining the safeguards for its provision.”

Source: EU court adviser rejects Meta’s fight against EU antitrust demands for Facebook data

In the face of concerns raised by AI systems in recent years, transparency has emerged as a central governance principle, enshrined in regulations from France’s Digital Republic Law to the EU AI Act. This talk examines the practical enforcement of algorithmic transparency provisions through action-research conducted by La Quadrature du Net, a French digital rights organization. Drawing on five years of Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) requests targeting surveillance algorithms deployed by French public authorities, we document systematic enforcement failures that render transparency requirements largely symbolic. Our findings suggest that transparency operates primarily as a legitimizing device for algorithmic governance rather than as an effective accountability mechanism.

Source: The Practical Limits of Algorithmic Transparency: Lessons from France · Félix Tréguer

X (formerly Twitter) is being sued in Germany by NGOs over Digital Services Act obligations, for a second time. Researchers want access to platform data before the key Hungarian parliamentary election in April.

Source: German NGOs sue Elon Musk’s X again over election research data access

Oliver Marsh and LK Seiling unpack the recently published X enforcement decision and what it says about DSA researcher data access rules.

Source: What the X Fine Reveals About Data Access Under Article 40 of the Digital Services Act

60 civil society organisations urge EU to reject a change that will weaken legal certainty, and protection of fundamental rights.

Source: Reject the proposals to undermine transparency in the AI Act – European Digital Rights (EDRi)

MEPs want citizens to have clearer, fairer and more proactive access to EU documents to strengthen transparency, accountability and public trust.

Source: MEPs push to improve public access to documents across the EU institutions | News | European Parliament

Source: Recommendation on the European Commission’s refusal to give public access to the risk assessment report drawn up by a large social media company on its compliance with the Digital Services Act (case 1746/2024/MIG) | Recommendation | European Ombudsman

Researchers eager to begin work under DSA Article 40(12) may be deterred by uncertainty about what data counts as ‘publicly accessible,’ writes Daphne Keller.

Source: How the Meaning of ‘Publicly Accessible’ Shapes Researcher Data Rights Under the DSA