Alphabet-owned Google has promised to be more transparent with its data practices ahead of the introduction of the European Union’s Digital Services Act (DSA) tomorrow.

The DSA goes into effect on Friday and requires companies to remove illegal content from their platforms promptly after being notified of it; be more transparent about how they moderate content and target advertising; take measures to prevent the spread of disinformation; and cooperate with law enforcement authorities.

Under the DSA, companies with over 45 million active monthly users are classed as "very large" by the European Commission, and will face these greater levels of scrutiny. The list of 17 "Very Large Online Platforms" (VLOPs) ranges from a variety of Google sites and Meta-owned platforms to fashion retailer Zalando and travel site Booking.com.

In a blog post, Google vice president for trust and safety Laurie Richardson wrote that the company will expand its Ads Transparency Center – described as “a global searchable repository of advertisers across all our platforms” – to “meet specific DSA provisions and providing additional information on targeting for ads served in the European Union.”

The blog post added: "We will increase data access for researchers looking to understand more about how Google Search, YouTube, Google Maps, Google Play and Shopping work in practice, and conducting research related to understanding systemic content risks in the EU.”

Google will also provide greater visibility into its content moderation decisions while updating its reporting and appeals processes to provide specified types of information and context about its decisions.

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