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Undefined "expeditiously" removal timeframe under Article 6 DSA

Ascertain whether the moderation delays observed in the DSA Transparency Database satisfy Article 6 of Regulation (EU) 2022/2065 requiring providers to remove illegal content "expeditiously," given that the regulation does not define a concrete timeframe for "expeditiously" and thus leaves compliance uncertain.

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Background

Article 6 DSA establishes conditional liability protections that hinge on removing illegal content expeditiously, yet the regulation does not specify fixed time limits. The authors analyze moderation delays before and after the launch of the Transparency Database and note improvements, but the lack of a defined timeframe prevents definitive compliance judgments.

This ambiguity creates an unresolved question: how to determine whether the measured moderation delays for illegal content meet the "expeditiously" standard under Article 6.

References

It is therefore difficult to ascertain whether there is non-compliance.

— Automated Transparency: A Legal and Empirical Analysis of the Digital Services Act Transparency Database (2404.02894 - Kaushal et al., 3 Apr 2024) in Compliance observations, Section 5.6 (When SoRs are Submitted ("Without Undue Delay"))