Why the DSA Targets the Wrong Thing

The EU’s Digital Services Act was supposed to be a turning point for platform accountability. And in some ways, it is. It pushes platforms to be more transparent about content moderation, gives users more recourse when posts get removed, and puts real obligations on the biggest players. That’s not nothing.

But here’s the problem. The DSA is treating the symptom, not the disease.

The real engine of harm on platforms like TikTok and Instagram isn’t a piece of content. It’s the algorithm deciding what you see next. The system that figures out, faster than any human could, exactly what keeps you scrolling. We still don’t fully understand how TikTok’s recommendation system works. Neither did TikTok’s own CEO when he testified before the US Senate and couldn’t explain how the For You feed makes its decisions. That’s not a content moderation problem. That’s a design problem.

The DSA does gesture toward this. It introduces the option of algorithm-free, chronological feeds, which is a start. But it stops short of requiring platforms to actually open up how those algorithms work. Users get an alternative feed, but not the ingredients list.

And then there’s the enforcement question. What happens when TikTok simply doesn’t comply? The DSA has fines on paper, but actually compelling a non-EU company to change its core product is murky at best. Regulation without enforcement isn’t regulation. It’s a strongly worded suggestion.

The DSA isn’t a mistake. But if we’re serious about fixing what’s broken with social media, we need to go further than content. We need to get into the machine itself.