MEPs spell out their priorities for the Digital Services Act

29 Sep 2020 02:13 PM

MEPs’ demands on how digital services, including online platforms and marketplaces, should be regulated were set out in a vote in the Internal Market Committee on Monday.

• New rules needed to frame responsibilities of digital service providers, address risks faced by users and boost innovative services across the EU
• A clearer and binding mechanism to tackle illegal content online
• Specific rules for big platforms to ease market entry for SMEs and start-ups

With the upcoming Digital Services Act (DSA), the EU aims to shape the digital economy not only at European Union level but also to be a standard-setter for the rest of the world, as it did with data protection.

In a “legislative initiative” report approved in the Internal Market and Consumer Protection Committee, MEPs request that the Commission addresses and tackles current shortcomings in the online environment in its DSA package, due to be presented by the end of the year. The principle of “what is illegal offline is also illegal online”, as well as the principles of consumer protection and user safety, should become “guiding principles” of the future DSA, they say.

The committee recommendations touch upon a wide range of issues, including obligations related to transparency and information for online marketplaces, product safety online, effective enforcement and supervision measures, including fines, the spread of illegal content online, artificial intelligence (AI), and ex-ante regulation to prevent (instead of merely remedy) market failures caused by big platforms.

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