On 25 November 2021, the EU Council adopted a general position on the Digital Services and Digital Markets Acts, which were presented in 2020 by the European Parliament and propose many regulations for nearly all companies operating in the online environment, such as the obligation to remove illegal user content, which will typically affect social networks. The aim is greater regulation of the online environment to protect users from illegal products, content or services.

In particular, the Council’s general position emphasises that what is illegal offline should also be illegal online. The main changes are the explicit inclusion of Internet search engines in the scope of the Digital Services Act, the increased protection of minors (e.g. by introducing an increased obligation to explain the general terms and conditions of the service provided so that these persons can also understand them) or the tightening of the rules for very large online platforms  (e.g. by tightening the reporting obligation or the possibility for the European Commission to carry out physical inspections and consult the documentation of such platforms).