Google Announces Plans to Comply with EU’s Digital Services Act

Jenna Lamb, online marketing analyst at Ontario SEO
Jenna Lamb
September 8, 2023
Google Announces Plans to Comply with EU’s Digital Services Act – Ontario SEO

On August 24, 2023, Google announced its plans to comply with the EU’s Digital Services Act (DSA) and its ongoing efforts to provide greater transparency regarding the delivery of targeted ads to users within the EU. In this blog, we’ll go over the key takeaways from that announcement and what it means for advertisers.  

About the DSA’s Regulations

With the introduction of the DSA, there will be an increased responsibility placed on major platforms with over 45 million regional users, such as Google and Meta. 

Failure to comply with these regulations and breaches of EU laws may result in substantial financial penalties, reaching as high as 6% of their global annual revenue for non-compliant platforms. 

Key Takeaways from Google’s DSA Announcement

In its announcement, Google states that it is taking the following measures to align its operations with the specific requirements of the DSA: 

  • Enhanced Ads Transparency: Google is extending its Ads Transparency Center to add additional details regarding targeted advertisements served within the European Union. 
  • Expanded Data Access: To offer deeper insights into the functioning of Google Search, YouTube, Google Maps, Google Play, and Shopping, Google is broadening data access for marketers. 
  • Policy Transparency: Introducing a new Transparency Center that will provide information on its policies on a product-by-product basis, along with user-friendly access to: 
    • Google reporting 
    • Google appeals tools 
    • Transparency Reports 
    • Information about the policy development process 
  • Increased Transparency Reporting: In the upcoming months, Google will expand the range of its transparency reports. This expansion will encompass information on how it manages content moderation across services like Google Search, Google Play, Google Maps, and Shopping. 
  • Risk Analysis Reports: Google will conduct assessments of risks to its platforms, including issues like illegal content and its dissemination. These findings will be reported to EU regulators and independent auditors, followed by the publication of a public summary. 

Final Thoughts

The measures Google is taking to comply with the EU’s DSA regulations will provide marketers with enhanced visibility into the performance of targeted ads, allowing them to streamline their campaigns with greater efficiency and increased ROI.