Today, the “Very Large Online Platforms” and “Very Large Online Search Engines” classified under the EU’s Digital Services Act submitted their first risk assessment reports to the European Commission regulator.

Currently, risk assessments only provide platforms’ self-identified societal risks. Further, there is no clear guidance on the specific metrics, methodologies and data sets that should be included in these assessments.

While we wait for critical details on the DSA’s data sharing framework, regulators and individuals are still left to take platforms at their word. Can we be sure they will account for their risks completely? What about the risks they pose around the world, beyond the EU?

We welcome this milestone -- and also call on the European Commission to be vigilant to the details of how these platforms adapt the new regulation into their services.

Now and always, regulators must remain aware of the gap between meaningful compliance and compliance theatre.