Source: OJ L 277, 27/10/2022, p. 1–102Current language: EN
- Digital services act
Basic legislative acts
- DSA regulation
Article 8 No general monitoring or active fact-finding obligations
Summary What does Article 8 of the DSA regulation say?
This is a notably brief but important protective article that establishes a foundational limitation on what can be required of intermediary service providers.
It directly complements the conditional liability exemptions set out in Articles 4, 5, and 6 by making clear that those exemptions cannot be undermined by imposing blanket surveillance obligations.
In short, providers cannot be forced to proactively police their own networks or storage for illegal activity.
Important points:
- Intermediary service providers are not required to monitor the information they transmit or store on a general basis.
- Intermediary service providers are not required to actively seek out facts or circumstances that might indicate illegal activity.
- This article acts as a safeguard against general monitoring mandates, reinforcing the conditional liability framework established elsewhere in the regulation.
Springlex's summary of the article is a reading aid, not a substitute for the legal text.
No general obligation to monitor the information which providers of intermediary services transmit or store, nor actively to seek facts or circumstances indicating illegal activity shall be imposed on those providers.
Relevant recitals
Recital 30 No general monitoring obligation imposed
Providers of intermediary services should not be, neither de jure, nor de facto, subject to a monitoring obligation with respect to obligations of a general nature. This does not concern monitoring obligations in a specific case and, in particular, does not affect orders by national authorities in accordance with national legislation, in compliance with Union law, as interpreted by the Court of Justice of the European Union, and in accordance with the conditions established in this Regulation. Nothing in this Regulation should be construed as an imposition of a general monitoring obligation or a general active fact-finding obligation, or as a general obligation for providers to take proactive measures in relation to illegal content.
Springlex and this text is meant purely as a documentation tool and has no legal effect. No liability is assumed for its content. The authentic version of this act is the one published in the Official Journal of the European Union.
Definition
recipient of the service
Definition
information society service
Definition
intermediary service
- a ‘mere conduit’ service, consisting of the transmission in a communication network of information provided by a recipient of the service, or the provision of access to a communication network;
- a ‘caching’ service, consisting of the transmission in a communication network of information provided by a recipient of the service, involving the automatic, intermediate and temporary storage of that information, performed for the sole purpose of making more efficient the information's onward transmission to other recipients upon their request;
- a ‘hosting’ service, consisting of the storage of information provided by, and at the request of, a recipient of the service;
Definition
illegal content