Trust and Power in Platform Auditing

For years, Big Tech has benefited from a lack of regulatory oversight. The EU’s Digital Services Act (DSA) is a significant step toward holding platforms more accountable by requiring them to assess and reduce the risks they pose to society by introducing the algorithmic auditor. These private firms audit platforms’ annual risk assessments. But how consistent are their conclusions? What roles do business interests play? And how much trust can we place in this new layer of oversight?