Promoting Safer Platform Design Through DSA Codes of Conduct

Webinar moderated by Rachel Griffin

The DSA represents a major step forward in the regulation of influential online platforms. Yet when it comes to issues like hate speech, online harassment, disinformation and child safety, the DSA text itself leaves a lot unsaid. Its most detailed obligations focus on identifying and moderating content that breaks the law or violates platform policies - yet professional and academic experts in online trust and safety increasingly agree that this can only ever be a partial solution. Creating safer online environments also requires attention to how platforms are designed and the kinds of behaviours and interactions that they enable or encourage. For example, how easy is it to send unsolicited messages to strangers? What kind of content do recommendation algorithms incentivise? Do user interfaces encourage thoughtful reflection or impulsive communication?

One aspect of the DSA which could address these issues is the codes of conduct that can be created under Articles 45-47 - some of which (e.g. on disinformation or hate speech) already exist and some of which (e.g. on child safety) are in the drafting process. These codes are not strictly legally binding, but can establish clear standards and strong regulatory incentives for companies to address risks to users in ways that go beyond their strict legal obligations - potentially including through changes in how they design their platforms. On the 6th February 2025, in collaboration with the Weizenbaum Institute for the Networked Society, the DSA Decoded project hosted a webinar to discuss the importance of platform design in creating safer online environments, and the possibility of establishing better standards on safer design practices via DSA codes of conduct.

We are grateful to our expert participants for sharing their insights:

Ravi Iyer, Research Director of the Neely Center, USC Marshall School
Stevi Kitsou, PhD researcher in EU law, Maastricht University
Sander van der Waal, research director, Waag Futurelab

Below, find some further resources that are relevant to our panel’s work and/or were mentioned in the webinar:

Research on DSA codes and risk assessments:

- Peter Chapman, ‘Advancing Platform Accountability: The Promise and Perils of DSA Risk Assessments’

- Rachel Griffin, ‘Codes of Conduct in the Digital Services Act: Functions, Benefits & Concerns’

- Beatriz Botero Arcila & Rachel Griffin, ‘Social media platforms and challenges for democracy, rule of law and fundamental rights’

Research on the importance of platform design:

- Jonathan Stray, Ravi Iyer &a Helena Puig Larrauri, ‘The Algorithmic Management of Polarization and Violence on Social Media’

- Tech Law Justice Project, Neely Center & Knight Georgetown Institute, ‘Taxonomy -Mapping Consumer Harm to Specific Social Media Design Elements’

- Dangerous Speech Project, ‘What is Dangerous Speech?’

- Nathaniel Rubin & Ravi Iyer, ‘How Tech Regulation Can Leverage Product Experimentation Results’

- Ravi Iyer, ‘Newly Passed Transparency Law Illuminates Social Media Design Risks’

Draft codes and best practices on platform design:

- Ravi Iyer, ‘Introducing the Neely Center Design Code for Social Media’

- Waag & Leiden University, ‘Code for Children’s Rights’