European Union: Digital Services Act including measures concerning online protection of minors entered into force

On 17 February 2024, the Regulation of a Single Market for Digital Services (DSA) entered into force, with Article 28 establishing provisions for the online protection of minors, requiring providers of online platforms accessible to minors to implement appropriate and proportionate measures to ensure a high level of privacy, safety, and security for minors on their services. Under paragraph 2, such providers are prohibited from presenting advertisements based on profiling, as defined in Article 4(4) of Regulation (EU) 2016/679, when they are aware with reasonable certainty that the recipient is a minor. Paragraph 3 clarifies that compliance does not necessitate the processing of additional personal data to assess whether a user is a minor. Additionally, paragraph 4 states that the European Commission, after consulting the Board, may issue guidelines to assist providers in applying the measures under paragraph 1.