Brussels: As part of its ongoing efforts to control the global web giants, the EU finalised new regulations on Saturday morning.

The Digital Services Act (DSA) seeks to punish platforms and websites that carry banned content such as hate speech, disinformation, and photos of child sexual abuse.

In early Saturday meetings in Brussels, EU officials and legislators eventually agreed on the legislation.

“Yes, we have a deal!,” said Thierry Breton, EU Commissioner for the Internal Market.

“With the DSA, the time of big online platforms behaving like they are ‘too big to care‘ is coming to an end. A major milestone for EU citizens,” added Breton, who earlier called the internet the “Wild West.”

“Today’s agreement on DSA is historic,” said EU Commissioner Ursula von der Leyen.

“Our new rules will protect users online, ensure freedom of expression and opportunities for businesses. What is illegal offline will effectively be illegal online in the EU.“

The rule follows the Digital Markets Act (DMA), which ended in late March and targeted anti-competitive behavior by tech behemoths like Google and Facebook.

A lot of tech businesses lobbied against the bill, and there was a heated debate over free speech.

A live-streamed terrorist assault in New Zealand in 2019 sparked global anger, while last year’s violent insurgency in the US was supported online.

The internet’s dark side includes e-commerce sites selling counterfeit or faulty goods.

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