EU Digital Services Act Rules for Recommender Systems

The Digital Services Act (Regulation (EU) 2022/2065) has a layered approach. Article 27 requires providers of online platforms using recommender systems to explain in plain, intelligible language the main parameters used and any options recipients can use to modify or influence them. The explanation must identify the most significant criteria for suggestions and their relative importance. If multiple ordering options exist, a selection control must be directly and easily accessible from the relevant interface section. Article 19 limits this duty’s scope. Micro and small enterprise providers of online platforms are generally excluded from Section 3, where Article 27 appears, except for Article 24(3). Section 3 does apply to a platform designated as a very large online platform (VLOP), regardless of whether its provider qualifies as micro or small. Do not describe Article 27 as covering every small platform without qualification. Article 38 is a separate additional duty: providers of VLOPs and very large online search engines (VLOSEs) that use recommenders must provide at least one option for each system that is not based on GDPR-defined profiling. That duty is not limited to VLOPs; it also names VLOSEs. The law does not prescribe a chronological feed or require public release of source code and model weights. A compliance review should map each product surface to the service provider and its legal designation, identify recommender systems, and check whether explanations and controls match deployed behavior. These core articles do not exhaust the DSA, and details depend on service scope and facts. Check current official material for the provider concerned; this guide is a plain-language overview, not legal advice.