Advertising funded video-sharing platforms under the revised AVMSD: Commercial communication functionalities

Abstract

The 2018 revision of the Audiovisual Media Services Directive (AVMSD) defined video-sharing platforms (VSPs) and brought them into the scope of the Directive, holding them responsible, though not liable, for preventing certain types of harm from both the user-generated content and the commercial communication they carry. The AVMSD introduces the concept of functionality to distinguish a platform as a VSP and bring it into scope. In this article, we present findings from an investigation that applied the concept of functionality more widely and sought to identify and understand those VSP functionalities relevant to commercial communications. We elaborate the creator-facing, advertiser-facing and user-facing functionalities found in a sample of thirteen VSPs by examining company documentation, and systematic testing through use, triangulated through semi-structured key informant interviews. Based on analysis of these commercial communications functionalities and the contractual relationships governing their use, we identify four purchasing pathways, each of which reveals roles played by stakeholders and distinct points of control. We therefore argue that the concept of functionality, which captures the platform design elements and the acceptance of a value proposition by various kinds of users, can be useful in distributing co-operative responsibility within dynamic, polycentric co-regulation and informing systems for enforcing procedural accountability.

Incorporating Psychological Science Into Policy Making

“…The DSA, the centerpiece of EU policy measures, establishes the EU-wide regulatory framework for providers of digital services. It also designates a special category of service providers – Very Large Online Platforms (VLOPs) – under the assumption that the risk of harm from the dissemination of misinformation is connected to the size and reach of the platform ( Broughton Micova, 2021 ). VLOPs are required to manage systemic risks related to the dissemination of illegal content, potentially negative effects on fundamental rights, and intentional manipulation of their services, including “any actual or foreseeable negative effects in relation to gender-based violence, the protection of public health and minors and serious negative consequences to the person’s physical and mental well-being.” ( European Parliament, 2022 , p. 75).…”