EU institutions have agreed to set out new standards for the accountability of online platforms such as Facebook, YouTube, and Twitter to check for illegal and harmful content.

According to a statement from the European Commission on Saturday, the Digital Services Act (DSA) will provide better protection for internet users besides defining a single set of rules in the bloc, helping smaller platforms grow.

The political agreement reached by the European Parliament and European Council is now subject to formal approval by the two co-legislators.

Once adopted, the DSA will be directly applicable across the bloc within 15 months or from Jan. 1, 2024

European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen stressed that the online environment needs to remain a safe space, safeguarding freedom of expression and opportunities for digital businesses.

"It gives practical effect to the principle that what is illegal offline, should be illegal online," Leyen said.

Executive Vice President of the European Commission for A Europe Fit for the Digital Age, Margrethe Vestager, pointed out that online platforms should be transparent about their content moderation decisions, prevent dangerous disinformation from going viral and avoid unsafe products being offered on market places.

Commissioner for the Internal Market Thierry Breton said platforms would be slapped with sanctions of up to 6% of global turnover or a ban on operating in the EU single market in case of repeated serious breaches./aa