§ Digital Services Act · Article 15
DSA Article 15: Obligations, Deadlines & Penalties
At a glance
Article 15 of the DSA imposes 6 obligations on provider of hosting services, provider of intermediary services. At least one obligation carries an explicit compliance deadline. Non-compliance may result in administrative fines or other penalties.
§ Obligations
All obligations under Article 15
Obligation 1
Providers of intermediary services must make publicly available, in a machine-readable format and easily accessible manner, at least once a year, clear reports on content moderation engaged in during the relevant period.
Regulation (EU) 2022/2065, Article 15, Article 15
- Obligated entity
-
provider of intermediary services
- Size threshold
- null
- Sector scope
- null
- Action required
-
report
- Deadline
-
at least once a year
- Penalty
-
null
- Exemptions
- micro or small enterprises as defined in Recommendation 2003/361/EC that are not very large online platforms
Obligation 2
Reports must include the number of orders received from Member States’ authorities, categorised by type of illegal content, issuing Member State, and median time to inform the authority of receipt and give effect to the order.
Regulation (EU) 2022/2065, Article 15, Article 15
- Obligated entity
-
provider of intermediary services
- Size threshold
- null
- Sector scope
- null
- Action required
-
report
- Deadline
-
at least once a year
- Penalty
-
null
- Exemptions
- micro or small enterprises as defined in Recommendation 2003/361/EC that are not very large online platforms
Obligation 3
Hosting service providers must report the number of notices submitted under Article 16, categorised by type of alleged illegal content, including notices from trusted flaggers, actions taken, use of automated means, and median time for action.
Regulation (EU) 2022/2065, Article 15, Article 15
- Obligated entity
-
provider of hosting services
- Size threshold
- null
- Sector scope
- null
- Action required
-
report
- Deadline
-
at least once a year
- Penalty
-
null
- Exemptions
- micro or small enterprises as defined in Recommendation 2003/361/EC that are not very large online platforms
Obligation 4
Providers of intermediary services must report meaningful information about content moderation engaged in at their own initiative, including use of automated tools, training measures, and restrictions on availability or visibility, categorised by content type, detection method, and restriction type.
Regulation (EU) 2022/2065, Article 15, Article 15
- Obligated entity
-
provider of intermediary services
- Size threshold
- null
- Sector scope
- null
- Action required
-
report
- Deadline
-
at least once a year
- Penalty
-
null
- Exemptions
- micro or small enterprises as defined in Recommendation 2003/361/EC that are not very large online platforms
Obligation 5
Providers of intermediary services must report the number of complaints received through internal complaint-handling systems, and online platforms must additionally report the basis for complaints, decisions taken, median time for decisions, and reversals.
Regulation (EU) 2022/2065, Article 15, Article 15
- Obligated entity
-
provider of intermediary services
- Size threshold
- null
- Sector scope
- null
- Action required
-
report
- Deadline
-
at least once a year
- Penalty
-
null
- Exemptions
- micro or small enterprises as defined in Recommendation 2003/361/EC that are not very large online platforms
Obligation 6
Providers of intermediary services must report any use of automated means for content moderation, including qualitative description, precise purposes, accuracy indicators, error rates, and safeguards applied.
Regulation (EU) 2022/2065, Article 15, Article 15
- Obligated entity
-
provider of intermediary services
- Size threshold
- null
- Sector scope
- null
- Action required
-
report
- Deadline
-
at least once a year
- Penalty
-
null
- Exemptions
- micro or small enterprises as defined in Recommendation 2003/361/EC that are not very large online platforms
§ Cross-regulatory issues
Conflicts, overlaps and gaps
OVERLAP (unreviewed)
medium
DMA Art. 15
↔
DSA Art. 15
[entity affected: gatekeeper / very large online platform] Both regulations require large platforms to publish annual reports on their operations, specifically regarding profiling techniques (DMA) and content moderation/transparency (DSA).
OVERLAP (unreviewed)
medium
DMA Art. 11
↔
DSA Art. 15
[entity affected: gatekeeper / provider of intermediary services] Both regulations mandate the publication of transparency reports or compliance summaries to ensure accountability and public oversight of platform activities.
§ Frequently asked
Questions about Article 15
Who must comply with Article 15 of the DSA?
+
provider of hosting services, provider of intermediary services.
What does Article 15 of the DSA require?
+
report
What is the compliance deadline for DSA Article 15?
+
at least once a year
What are the penalties for non-compliance with DSA Article 15?
+
null