Regulating Digital Services: Deciding the Authority
The Center for Data Innovation hosted a panel discussion on the enforcement framework of the European Union's (EU) Digital Services Act (DSA) on November 16, 2021. The discussion, which took place from 9:00 AM to 10:00 AM (EST) and 3:00 PM to 4:00 PM (CET), was moderated by Christophe Carugati, a Senior Analyst at the Center for Data Innovation.
The DSA, proposed to establish new transparency and accountability rules for online services, aims to prevent underenforcement but risks creating fragmentation of the Digital Single Market. The proposed changes focus on strengthening national-level enforcement by Member States, enhancing oversight mechanisms, and ensuring more consistent application to uphold the Digital Single Market's objectives.
The DSA implementation entrusts designated national supervisory bodies in Member States with responsibility for enforcement actions, including imposing penalties such as fines, warnings, reprimands, and orders for compliance. These fines are designed to be effective, proportionate, and dissuasive, similar to GDPR frameworks, but applied at the Member State level rather than centrally by the EU Commission.
Recent court rulings, such as the January 2025 Düsseldorf ruling, underline how the DSA provisions empower national courts and authorities to hold platforms liable, reinforcing the Member States' enforcement roles while also revealing risks of enforcement abuse in practices like systematic content removal triggered by businesses.
The enforcement regime for the DSA and related digital regulations aims to harmonize compliance across the EU to reduce market fragmentation, which directly affects the Digital Single Market by ensuring consistent rules on online platforms, content moderation, data access, and consumer protections across Member States.
The potential impact on the Digital Single Market includes more uniform enforcement across Member States, promoting smoother cross-border digital services and enhancing trust among users and businesses. Strengthened enforcement may increase platform accountability, reducing risks of unfair practices or abuse of content moderation powers, thereby creating a safer and fairer digital environment for consumers and competitors alike. Improved regulatory clarity and enforcement cooperation can foster innovation and competition by leveling the playing field among platforms operating in different Member States.
However, the national-level enforcement model introduces challenges of uneven capability and willingness among Member States that the EU is actively seeking to mitigate through oversight and sanctioning mechanisms.
The panel discussion was attended by Vinous Ali, the Coordinator for Digital Future for Europe; Enrico Camilli, a Policy Officer and Lawyer at the European Commission; Manon Tabaczynsky, a Senior Policy Officer at Allied for Startups; and Christophe Carugati. The discussion focused on the roles of Member States, the Commission, and the European Parliament in relation to the DSA. Some member states have proposed a change in the DSA, allowing them to enforce rules for any online intermediary providing services in their country.
The panel discussion can be followed on Twitter using the hashtag #ourwebsite.
- The Center for Data Innovation's panel discussion highlighted the DSA's aim to prevent underenforcement yet risk creating fragmentation in the Digital Single Market.
- The enforcement framework of the DSA empowers national courts and authorities to hold platforms liable, reinforcing Member States' roles in enforcement, although it may introduce risks of enforcement abuse.
- The enforcement regime for the DSA seeks to harmonize compliance across the EU to reduce market fragmentation, promoting smoother cross-border digital services and enhancing trust among users and businesses.
- Policy cooperation among Member States, the Commission, and the European Parliament is crucial for effective enforcement of the DSA, while also addressing issues of uneven capability and willingness among Member States.
