Google doubles down on ads transparency, data access as new EU law kicks in

London, Aug 24

Google on Thursday said it will increase how much information it provides about ads targeted at users in the European Union (EU), as the new set of regulations known as the Digital Services Act (DSA) comes into force from August 25.

Google will also expand data access to third party researchers studying systemic content risks in the region.

“We are also making changes to provide new kinds of visibility into our content moderation decisions and give users different ways to contact us. And we are updating our reporting and appeals processes to provide specified types of information and context about our decisions,” said the tech giant.

The European Union’s DSA, one of the most comprehensive pieces of internet regulation, will begin to fully apply on tech companies that operate in the EU. The DSA compliance deadline applies for platforms with more than 45 million regional users.

“We looks forward to continued engagement with the European Commission and other stakeholders, including technical and policy experts,” said Laurie Richardson, Vice President, Trust and Safety, Google.

The DSA applies to many different online services -- from marketplaces and app stores to online video sharing platforms and search engines.

“We will be expanding the Ads Transparency Center, a global searchable repository of advertisers across all our platforms, to meet specific DSA provisions and providing additional information on targeting for ads served in the European Union,” said Google.

Building on our prior efforts to help advance public understanding of our services, “we will increase data access for researchers looking to understand more about how Google Search, YouTube, Google Maps, Google Play and Shopping work in practice, and conducting research related to understanding systemic content risks in the EU,” said the company.

Earlier this week, Meta-owned Instagram introduced additional transparency measures and user options for European users.

The users will now be able to access features like Reels, Stories, and Search on Facebook and Instagram without seeing content that’s been ranked by Meta’s recommendation algorithms, according to Nick Clegg, President, Global Affairs at Meta.