Intermediary regulation in the EU Digital Services Act: Intermediary functions of NGOs, researchers and algorithmic auditors

The European Union’s Digital Services Act seeks to ensure safe and fair online environments for citizen. The DSA constitutes a fascinating example of multilevel governance and builds on three main types of regulatory intermediaries whose varying intermediation functions are at the focus of this study. First, NGOs are certified by national DSCs as trusted flaggers to assess the quality and truthfulness of content on online platforms. Second, researchers (and mainly academic researchers) receive data access under DSA 40(8) and DSA 40(12) to contribute to a better understanding of the systemic risks of online services. Third, algorithmic auditors are hired by digital platform companies themselves in order to audit the use of algorithmic systems which lie at the center of platforms business models. The study comparatively assesses the regulatory functions of these three types of intermediaries and formulates conditions for successful intermediation with the aim of mitigating systemic risks and potential adverse effects of online services for democratic processes and public well-being.