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World desk6 min

What Can Internet Regulators Do When Social Media Platforms Operate Across Borders?

A platform’s overseas headquarters do not automatically shield it from regulation. The EU’s DSA shows how national coordinators and the European Commission divide authority and use cross-border cooperation.

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Operating from another country does not automatically put a social media platform beyond regulation. Authorities first need a law that applies to the service or conduct and a legal basis to act; the applicable law then determines which regulator can investigate and what remedies it can seek. The European Union’s Digital Services Act (DSA) shows how those responsibilities can be divided across national and EU institutions. It is an EU example, not a worldwide rule: legal powers and enforcement procedures differ by jurisdiction, and the rules below are not advice about any particular case.

How the EU assigns responsibility under the DSA

The DSA uses a network of national regulators, with a distinct role for the European Commission. Each EU Member State must designate and empower a Digital Services Coordinator (DSC). In principle, a country’s DSC supervises and enforces the DSA against intermediary-service providers established in that country, regardless of how many users they have. National law may give specific tasks to other authorities, while the DSC coordinates the DSA’s application nationally.

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The DSA’s general allocation of supervision is based on a provider’s main establishment. For a provider outside the EU that offers services in the Union, the Regulation points to the Member State where it appointed its legal representative; it also provides routes for action if a representative has not been appointed. These are DSA allocation rules, not a universal test for every internet law or every order about online content.

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Who handles a very large platform?

The Commission has exclusive competence for the enhanced DSA due-diligence obligations that apply to designated very large online platforms (VLOPs) and very large online search engines (VLOSEs), including obligations directed at systemic risks. For those same services, the Commission and national authorities share competence over other DSA obligations. A platform’s designation as very large therefore does not mean the Commission handles every DSA issue involving it.

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How regulators coordinate across EU borders

A DSC in a Member State where a service has recipients can raise a suspected DSA infringement with the DSC in the provider’s establishment state. Under Article 58(1), the destination-state coordinator may request that the establishment-state coordinator assess the matter and take necessary investigatory or enforcement measures. If at least three destination-state DSCs request action, the European Board for Digital Services may ask the establishment-state DSC to act, unless the Commission has already opened an investigation into the same alleged infringement. This process routes concerns to the authority assigned to lead; it does not remove the need to follow the DSA’s competence rules.

People using a service may complain to the DSC where they are located or established, according to the Commission’s guidance. A complaint can bring a cross-border concern to a regulator’s attention, but it does not guarantee a particular outcome or change which authority is competent.

What enforcement tools are available?

The Commission’s DSA enforcement overview describes several tools for investigating possible breaches and addressing established ones. Their use is subject to the conditions and safeguards that apply to each measure.

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  • Information and technical access: The Commission may request information and access data and algorithms from VLOPs and VLOSEs.
  • Interviews: It may interview people with relevant knowledge where they consent.
  • Inspections: It may inspect platform premises, subject to consultation and, where necessary, judicial authorisation in the Member State of establishment.
  • Measures and fines: If it establishes a breach, the Commission may order measures to remedy it and impose a proportionate fine. The DSA ceiling for non-compliance is 6% of a provider’s global annual turnover. The Commission says it assesses the nature, gravity, recurrence and duration of the infringement; 6% is a statutory maximum, not a typical or automatic fine.
  • Consequences for obstructing an investigation: Certain failures to comply with investigatory requests may attract fines of up to 1% of worldwide annual turnover. Periodic penalty payments may also apply in specified circumstances.

Commission enforcement decisions can be appealed before EU courts. That review route is part of the process, rather than an assurance that a contested measure will be upheld.

Urgent measures and the exceptional access restriction

While an investigation is under way, the Commission may use temporary, proportionate interim measures when urgent action is needed to prevent serious harm to users. The Commission gives changes to recommender systems and increased monitoring of specified keywords or hashtags as examples; neither measure is automatic or appropriate in every case.

Restricting access to a service is described by the Commission as a last resort. The route requires persistent infringement that causes serious harm to users and involves criminal offences threatening people’s lives or safety. It also involves consultation and a Commission request that the DSC seek an order from the competent judge in the establishment Member State. This is not a general power to shut down any platform that fails to comply.

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Why different internet laws can point to different regulators

Regulatory responsibility depends on the legal regime, not simply on where a platform’s users are. NIS2 illustrates the distinction: it is a cybersecurity directive, not the DSA’s content-governance framework. For social networking service platforms covered by NIS2, its jurisdiction rules generally assign one Member State based on the entity’s main establishment in the Union. A covered entity outside the Union must appoint a representative, with jurisdiction linked to the representative’s Member State.

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Regime What the cited rules cover How jurisdiction or competence is allocated
DSA Supervision and enforcement of DSA obligations for intermediary services Generally based on the provider’s main establishment; for a provider outside the EU offering services in the Union, the Regulation points to the Member State of its legal representative, with additional routes if none was appointed. Commission and DSC responsibilities differ for designated VLOPs and VLOSEs.
NIS2 Cybersecurity obligations for covered entities, including covered social networking service platforms Generally one Member State based on the entity’s main establishment in the Union; an entity outside the Union must appoint a representative, with jurisdiction linked to that representative’s Member State.

The regimes have different purposes and allocation provisions. A regulator’s authority under one should not be assumed to settle who can act under the other.

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What cooperation with regulators outside the EU can—and cannot—do

The European Commission describes administrative cooperation arrangements with regulators including Australia’s eSafety Commissioner, the United Kingdom’s Ofcom, Japan’s Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications, and Brazil’s data-protection authority. These arrangements support closer cooperation and the exchange of information and expertise. They do not create a single global regulator or, by themselves, establish that one country can execute another country’s sanction.

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Technical capability also matters when regulators assess systems that are difficult to inspect from outside. The Commission’s European Centre for Algorithmic Transparency, launched in April 2023, conducts technical tests of algorithmic systems, analyses transparency reports, risk assessments and independent audits, supports investigations and inspections, and identifies emerging risks.

What cross-border enforcement still depends on

  • An applicable law: The regulator needs a legal basis covering the service or conduct. A service being accessible in a country is not, by itself, a universal test for jurisdiction.
  • A competent authority: The law must assign the matter to the regulator seeking to act, taking account of the regime’s territorial and establishment rules.
  • Procedure and safeguards: Requirements such as consent for interviews, judicial authorisation for some inspections, and the right to appeal can shape what an authority may do and when.
  • Cross-border legal process: Cooperation can help authorities exchange information and expertise, but it does not alone determine which court may issue an order or whether another country will recognise or enforce it.

Whether a particular regulator can collect a particular fine from an overseas company cannot be answered from the DSA and NIS2 examples alone. It depends on the law, the regulator’s authority and the relevant enforcement procedures in the jurisdictions involved.

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