Small Irish Regulatory Authority Granted Unprecedented Powers to Censor Online Content of 450 Million EU Citizens | 19 Feb 2024 | The Digital Services Act (DSA) -- the EU's new legislative framework to regulate online platforms -- came into full force on Saturday, putting the European Commission's small Irish partner in charge of handling most of the regulatory caseload for the entire bloc. This decision-making process, based at the Coimisiún na Meán, is set to make a major impact on future EU and European elections. Coimisiún na Meán will has been granted unprecedented powers to censor online content for 450 million EU citizens from Saturday, February 17, as the DSA comes into full effect. The Dublin-based body is seen by many as Europe's nerve centre for monitoring and removing allegedly hateful content, ahead of a busy election cycle. The presence of most major digital platforms in Dublin means the 75-person office will effectively become the chief EU moderator for platforms such as Facebook, X, and TikTok, deciding which content to remove. It can even issue multi-billion euro fines to corporations, a politically sensitive task ahead of June's European elections.