On 20 January 2022, the European Parliament’s plenary adopted its position on the Digital Services Act (DSA). The Internal Market and Consumer Protection Committee’s report on the proposal, authored by the Danish rapporteur C. Schaldelmose, was supported by 530 votes in favour, 78 votes against and 80 abstentions.
As a reminder, the DSA is intended to create a new set of binding rules aimed at protecting consumers from illegal content and products online. It also aims at increasing responsibilities of providers of online intermediary services (including hosting services and online platforms such as online marketplaces, app stores and social media platforms) offering their services in the European single market, irrespective of their place of establishment.
This new set of rules includes among other things obligations of content moderation for service providers; notice-and-action mechanisms for illegal products, services and content; transparency and traceability requirements, as well as effective internal complaint-handling systems. So-called “very large online platforms” (VLOPs) will also be subject to more stringent obligations, including “systemic risk assessments”, arising from the particular risks they pose regarding illegal and harmful content.
The Council position adopted in November 2021 already introduced numerous changes to the European Commission’s original proposal and the Members of the European Parliament have now presented more than 100 amendments to the initial text, including, in particular:
exemption of some obligations for micro and small enterprises;
more transparent information on how data are monetised;
more options to access online platforms based on tracking-free advertising;
ban on advertising that targets minors and vulnerable groups;
prohibition from using specific techniques to influence users’ behaviour through so-called “dark patterns”;
obligation for VLOPs to provide systems not based on profiling, etc.
An amendment also foresees the right for recipients of digital services and organisations representing them to seek redress for any damages resulting from platforms’ abuses.
On 31 January and 15 February, trilogue negotiations started between the European Parliament, the European Commission and the Council to reach a final agreement on the proposed DSA. The EU presidency is currently held by France, which is presiding over the negotiations and pushing to reach a final text before the takeover of the rotating presidency by the Czech Republic, so by June 2022.
Please contact Karel Janssens for further information about the DSA and/or for general legal advice relating to platforms and the digital economy.