Based on my analysis, the claim that "The European Union will have complete control over everything individuals do online" is a significant exaggeration and misrepresentation of the EU's actual digital regulatory framework.

Fact Check Analysis:

• The EU's Digital Services Act (DSA) regulates online platforms and intermediaries, not individual users directly¹². It does not grant the EU "complete control" over individual online activities.

• The DSA has a defined scope that excludes private communications, including emails, private messaging services, and personal cloud storage services³⁴. It applies primarily to public-facing platforms like social media, marketplaces, and search engines.

• The regulation is proportionate, with lighter requirements for micro and small enterprises, and focuses on illegal content, harmful activities, and disinformation—not "everything" individuals do online²⁵.

• The DSA explicitly includes protections for fundamental rights, including freedom of expression and privacy under the EU Charter of Fundamental Rights and the European Convention on Human Rights⁶⁷.

• While the DSA does grant government authorities some oversight powers, scholars have noted that its implementation must be consistent with proportionality principles and international human rights law⁷⁸.

• The claim reflects a common rhetorical distortion of digital regulation that conflates platform accountability with totalitarian control over individual behavior.

Overall validity: 5%

1. A guide to the Digital Services Act, the EU’s law to rein in Big Tech - AlgorithmWatch
2. No. 85: The EU’s Digital Services Act and Its Impact on Online Platforms - Working Paper - Stanford Law School
3. What is DSA: The Digital Services Act Explained - EDAA
4. EU’s Digital Services Act Just Became Applicable: Outlining Ten Key Areas of Interplay with the GDPR - Future of Privacy Forum
5. The Digital Services Act | Shaping Europe's digital future
6. At a glance: Does the EU Digital Services Act protect freedom of expression? - European Digital Rights (EDRi)
7. Platforms, Online Surveillance, and the European Union: The Digital ...
8. Does the EU’s Digital Services Act Violate Freedom of Speech? | The Europe Corner | CSIS