EU's Critical Challenges in the Digital Services Legislation

The European Commission is drafting the Digital Services Act (DSA), an update to the eCommerce Directive from 2000, aiming to modernise the EU's approach to the digital economy. Proposed by Ursula von der Leyen in her 2019 bid for the European Commission's presidency, the DSA seeks to set rules for online platforms, both large and small, for the foreseeable future.

One of the key objectives of the DSA is to reduce fragmentation of the digital single market. It aims to abolish the distinction between "active" and "passive" online services, ensuring a level playing field for all players in the digital market.

The DSA also focuses on enhancing transparency and accountability. It requires online services to provide more transparency about their policies and processes for responding to illegal content. The DSA should hold companies responsible for the timely removal of illegal content once they learn about it.

However, the DSA does not aim to impose additional regulations on large online platforms. Instead, it should extend liability protections to all online services for content they neither produced nor had actual knowledge of being illegal. This is to prevent the overburdening of smaller platforms with excessive regulations.

The DSA also addresses potential harms from disinformation and hate speech. It proposes the development of voluntary codes of conduct in partnership between the public and private sectors. The DSA should refrain from requiring online services to remove lawful offline content, such as certain forms of disinformation and hate speech.

The growth of online platforms results in diminishing costs, increased investment in R&D, and increasing value which largely benefits consumers. The DSA represents a chance for the EU to nurture scalable data-driven businesses, contributing to the growth of the digital economy.

The DSA should create penalties for service providers that consistently fail to respond appropriately to illegal content notifications. It should also prevent EU member states from enforcing competing content regulations laws in other EU countries or outside the EU, ensuring a harmonious digital market across the continent.

Lastly, the DSA should provide opportunities for the EU to lead in the global Internet economy. By setting clear and consistent rules for online services, the EU can foster a digital market that is safe, competitive, and innovative, positioning itself as a global leader in the digital economy.