What the DSA Means Outside Europe: Research Access and Its Limits

The Digital Services Act (DSA) creates unprecedented opportunities for research into platform-driven systemic risks, but researchers outside Europe face practical and theoretical constraints. This article examines these limitations and identifies pathways for productive engagement. For most non-European researchers, GDPR compliance creates a fundamental choice. They can work with non-personal data from anywhere, or work with personal data only within the EU – a choice with significant implications for research design. Article 40’s focus on systemic risk in Europe further limits which questions qualify for access. In this article, I identify three categories of research that fit within this scope while addressing globally relevant questions: studies of core platform characteristics, research on cross-border dynamics affecting European users, and comparative work contextualizing European risk. Researchers who want to take advantage of these opportunities also have a responsibility to engage with the DSA framework in good faith, both to maintain its legitimacy and to ensure this regulatory experiment generates knowledge that genuinely serves the European public.