Brussels, 17 April 2023
Tomorrow, the Commission will officially inaugurate the European Centre for Algorithmic Transparency (ECAT), located at the Joint Research Centre (JRC) in Seville, Spain.
ECAT will provide the Commission with in-house technical and scientific expertise to ensure that algorithmic systems used by the Very Large Online Platforms and Very Large Online Search Engines comply with the risk management, mitigation and transparency requirements in the new Digital Services Act (DSA). This includes, amongst other tasks, the performance of technical analyses and evaluations of algorithms. ECAT researchers will not only focus on identifying and addressing systemic risks stemming from very large online platforms and search engines, but also investigate the long-term societal impact of algorithms.
The new Digital Services Act imposes risk management requirements for companies designated by the Commission as Very Large Online Platforms and Very Large Online Search Engines. Under this framework, designated platforms will have to identify, analyse and mitigate a wide array of systemic risks on their platforms, ranging from how illegal content and disinformation can be amplified through their services, to the impact on the freedom of expression or media freedom. The Commission is currently analysing the user numbers transmitted by platforms and search engines with a view to designating Very Large Online Platforms and Very Large Online Search Engines, which will have four months from the designation to comply with all DSA obligations and in particular to submit their first risk assessment.
The launch event brings together representatives from EU institutions, academia, civil society and industry to discuss the main challenges and the importance at a societal level of having oversight of how algorithmic systems are used.
The launch event can be followed via livestream. More information is available in a press release.
Source – EU Commission