The European Commission cast its net over to the United States—and, more specifically, to Silicon Valley—when on April 25 it named 19 companies that will face additional, stricter requirements under the European Union's (EU's) Digital Services Act (DSA).

As a whole, the DSA, which passed in November 2022, targets providers offering network infrastructure to European users, including internet access providers, app stores, and social media platforms. But last month, the European Commission singled out 19 platforms that will fall into the "very large online platforms" (VLOPs) bucket, which are organizations that reach more than 45 million users in Europe. Among the well-known names on the list are Amazon Store, Bing, Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, Twitter, and YouTube.

While most of these online providers have likely expected the additional scrutiny from the EU, legal professionals noted that the stricter requirements will likely push the tech giants to transform how they've done business. And looking ahead, the high standards set by the DSA for the 19 platforms could ripple across the tech industry.