EU reaches deal on new legislation to combat illegal content online

BRUSSELS, April 23 (Xinhua) -- The European Council said Saturday that it has reached a provisional political agreement with the European Parliament on a new legislation to combat hate speech, disinformation and other harmful content online.

The legislation, named the Digital Services Act (DSA), "aims to protect the digital space against the spread of illegal content, and to ensure the protection of users' fundamental rights," the European Council said in a press release.

The agreement was reached after negotiators from the council and the parliament agreed on a provisional text for new rules to make the Internet a safer space for European citizens. Talks began on Friday and continued till the early hours of Saturday.

According to European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, the DSA "gives practical effect to the principle that what is illegal offline, should be illegal online," and will "upgrade the ground-rules for all online services in the EU."

The provisional political agreement will have to be rubber-stamped by the European Council and the European Parliament before the legislation goes into effect.