Irish Regulator Names Etsy In Review Of Digital Services Act Content Reporting Compliance
Ireland's media regulator, Coimisiún na Meán (CNM), is concerned that people are having difficulty reporting illegal content to online platforms under the EU Digital Services Act and has named Etsy among other social media platforms, online retailers and tech companies in a review of DSA compliance.
The review is looking at the tools and processes offered by Etsy, as well as Dropbox, LinkedIn, Meta, Pinterest, Shein, Temu, TikTok, Tumblr, YouTube, and X for users to report illegal content and other violations of the DSA.
Aoife Molloy
Specifically, CNM has issued formal requests to these companies for further comprehensive detail on their approach to complying with Article 16, which states that platforms must have easy to access and user-friendly ways for users to report illegal content, and Article 12, which says they must also provide a clear and accessible point of contact for users to raise concerns.
CNM makes it clear this review is currently in the preliminary information gathering stage, that responding to the Request For Information is voluntary for these companies and that "no decision has been made as to whether the named platforms have, in any manner, failed to comply with their obligations."
However, choosing not to respond could be a risky proposition as the regulator could then move forward with enforcement if they have "substantiated concerns regarding compliance with Article 12 and/or Article 16" - with penalties that can reach up to 6% of global annual turnover if they are found to be in violation.
Etsy has been increasingly under fire for the sheer volume of counterfeit, IP infringing and illegal items on the platform, revealing a troubling lack of policy enforcement that has serious brand damaging consequences.
Citron Research took Etsy to task over this issue last year, saying the site is the "largest organized clearinghouse for counterfeit goods in the world."
Liz Morton ~ Founder
Etsy has also long been criticized for allowing mass produced items from Aliexpress and others to be sold on the site in violation of their handmade policies, and opening the site up to allow sellers from China earlier this year has added even more fuel to concerns that the marketplace will continue to be be overrun with counterfeit, illegal or policy violating products from overseas.
Liz Morton
While Etsy says it has stepped up enforcement in recent times, the increasing use of AI has led to many legitimate handmade items being caught in the automated bot dragnet, harming real sellers while leaving some of the most egregious violators free to sell on the site.
Etsy's entire brand was built around the value of handmade and the idea of "keeping commerce human" which has posed a challenge as investors push to see more growth in the marketplace, pressuring to expand the depth of items on the site and appeal to budget-conscious shoppers to get buyers coming back during difficult economic times.
That has lead to a recent rethinking of Etsy's Creativity Standards, which opened the door to some items that had not previously been allowed under marketplace policies, but also created a sticky situation as Etsy increasingly replaces "keeping commerce human" with AI often getting policy enforcement very wrong.
Most recently, sellers are increasingly receiving takedown notices of authentically handmade items for supposed Creativity Standards violations due to stolen images with no ability to appeal to have the listings reinstated.
Liz Morton
Meanwhile, many listings for actually counterfeit and illegal items remain active on the site and many users would likely agree that Etsy's current support process does not offer "easy to access and user-friendly ways for users to report illegal content" or "a clear and accessible point of contact" to raise concerns to the platform.
If you're a buyer or seller in the EU, I'd love to hear about your experiences trying to report illegal content/goods to Etsy - leave a comment below or contact VAR!
