Specific obligations of very large intermediary service providers
Risk management by very large online platforms and search engines
Providers of very large online platforms and very large search engines will be required to put in place and apply risk management mechanisms, including regular analysis and assessment of systemic risks in the Union arising from the design or operation of their service. Four categories of systemic risk should be considered in the assessment:
I. the risk of distributing illegal content as well as committing illegal acts;
II. the risk of an actual or foreseeable impact of the service on the exercise of fundamental rights protected by the Charter (including human dignity, freedom of expression and information, the right to private life, data protection, non-discrimination, the rights of the child and consumer protection);
III. risks of actual or foreseeable impacts on democratic processes, civil discourse and electoral processes, as well as on public safety;
IV. risks related to the design, operation or use of platforms, including through manipulation, which may have an actual or foreseeable negative impact on the protection of public health, minors and serious negative consequences on the physical and psychological well-being of a person, or on gender-based violence.
If algorithmic accentuation of information contributes to systemic risk, suppliers should take this into account in their risk assessments, which they need to store together with source information.