The EU Digital Services Act (DSA) became fully enforceable in February 2024, and by 2026 it's the single most surveilled piece of digital regulation after GDPR. If your website operates in the EU — or serves EU users — you need to understand what it requires.
Unlike GDPR, which focuses on personal data, the DSA targets how platforms manage content, transparency, and user safety. It applies to everything from small business websites with user-generated content to massive marketplaces.
Who Does the DSA Apply To?
The DSA applies to all "intermediary services" — broadly, any website that hosts or transmits third-party content. This includes:
- Online marketplaces (Shopify stores with third-party sellers, Amazon, Etsy)
- Social media and forums (any site with comments, reviews, or user posts)
- Hosting services (cloud providers, web hosts)
- Content platforms (blogs with comment sections, video platforms)
Even small businesses that host customer reviews or forum discussions fall under DSA obligations, just with proportionally lighter requirements than "Very Large Online Platforms" (VLOPs) like Google, Amazon, and Meta.
The Three Compliance Signals We Check
1. Transparency Page
The DSA requires publishing regular transparency reports on content moderation decisions. For smaller platforms, this can be a simple page explaining your content policies and how many removal requests you have processed. Check for accessibility at paths like /transparency, /dsa, or /digital-services-act.
2. Designated Contact Point
Article 11 of the DSA requires a single, clearly identified point of contact for authorities and users. This is separate from your generic "Contact Us" page — it must be designated specifically for DSA-related matters and reachable electronically.
3. Notice-and-Action Mechanism
The DSA mandates that users have a clear way to report illegal content. This goes beyond a simple abuse@ email address — the mechanism should be easy to find, easy to use, and should result in a timely response. Think "Report this content" functionality or a dedicated reporting form.
What Happens If You Don't Comply?
The DSA carries fines of up to 6% of global annual turnover. National Digital Services Coordinators in each EU member state are responsible for enforcement, and they have been actively issuing compliance requests since late 2024. Several high-profile investigations are already underway.
More importantly for most businesses: non-compliance damages trust. Enterprise buyers, B2B partners, and informed consumers increasingly look for DSA compliance signals. Having a visible transparency page and contact point signals professional operation.
How to Add DSA Compliance to Your Site
1. Create a /transparency or /dsa page explaining your content moderation practices, even if they're simple ("We review flagged reviews within 48 hours") 2. Add a designated contact — a specific email or form for DSA-related queries, linked from your footer or legal pages 3. Implement a reporting mechanism — a "Report content" link on user-generated content, or a dedicated form for illegal content reports 4. Document your response process — how quickly you respond to reports, how decisions are made, and how users can appeal
Scan your website at RoastReady to instantly check for DSA compliance signals — our scanner detects transparency pages, designated contacts, and notice-and-action mechanisms across multiple languages.