Skip to content

EU Digital Services Act Package

Ramón Seoane

Sometimes size does matter

A lot has been written about the Digital Services Package (DSP) which is comprised by the Digital Services Act (DSA) and the Digital Markets Act (DMA) and was devised to achieve a safe and fair digital ecosystem across the EU. The DSP was adopted by the European Parliament before the summer break and is expected to enter into force in Autumn 2022. The DSA will apply in 2024 and the DMA in Spring/Summer 2023. The DSP is the result of applying in the digital sector the axiom “with the size comes responsibility”.

EU Digital Services Act

The consolidated text of the DSA adopted by the EP (Regulation (EU) 2022/… of the European Parliament and of the Council on a Single Market For Digital Services and amending Directive 2000/31/EC) can be accessed through this link: Texts adopted – Digital Services Act ***I – Tuesday, 5 July 2022 (europa.eu)

The DSA maintains the liability regime established by the e-Commerce Directive for intermediaries but sets a reinforced accountability framework for them. The obligations set by the DSA are assigned according to four main categories, i.e. intermediary services (IS), hosting services (HS), online platforms (OP) and very large online platforms (VLOP) that bear the heaviest burden among online players. To qualify as a VLOP an undertaking should have a number of average monthly active recipients in the EU equal to or higher than 45 million (10% of the EU population in 2020 when the DSP proposal was launched). Apart from the duties generally allocated to IS, HS providers and OP (e.g., transparent content moderation mechanisms, complaint handing systems, etc.), VLOP shall perform specific additional tasks such as risk assessment reports and independent audits. And on top of that, VLOP will contribute to the supervision costs borne by the Commission by way of a supervisory fee.

Apart from the duties generally allocated to IS, HS providers and OP (e.g., transparent content moderation mechanisms, complaint handing systems, etc.), VLOP shall perform specific additional tasks such as risk assessment reports and independent audits. And on top of that, VLOP will contribute to the supervision costs borne by the Commission by way of a supervisory fee.

EU Digital Markets Act

The consolidated text of the DMA adopted by the EP (Regulation (EU) 2022/… of the European Parliament and of the Council on contestable and fair markets in the digital sector and amending Directives (EU) 2019/1937 and (EU) 2020/1828) can be accessed through this link: Texts adopted – Digital Markets Act ***I – Tuesday, 5 July 2022 (europa.eu)

The DMA, which involves a shift form from ex-post anti-trust intervention to ex-ante regulation, is addressed to gatekeepers. To qualify as a gatekeeper an undertaking providing core platform services should present three features, namely a) having a significant impact on the internal market (annual turnover in the EU equal to or above EUR 7,5 billion or an average market capitalisation of at least EUR 75 billion), b) being important gateway for business users to reach end users (minimum 45 million monthly active end users in the EU and at least 10,000 yearly active business users, and c) enjoying entrenched and durable position.

Among other obligations, gatekeepers are precluded from combining (and cross-using) personal data from its core platform service with data retrieved from other gatekeeper’s services. In the same vein they are barred a) from preventing business users offering their products/services through third-party online intermediation services and b) from treating more favourably their own services and products to the detriment of third parties’ services/products. From a technical perspective, without limitation, gatekeepers shall allow end users a) to un-install software applications on the operating system of the gatekeeper and b) to change default settings on the operating system, virtual assistant and web browser of the gatekeeper that direct or steer end users to its products or services. They shall also enable the installation of third-party software applications or software application stores using, or interoperating with, its operating system.

Conclusion

In the digital environment responsibility is proportionate to dimension. The larger the undertaking the higher its accountability regime. These principles are meant to foster competitiveness and facilitate the growth of smaller platforms and start-ups. To identify dominant enterprises the DSP has established ex ante quantitative thresholds related to average users and monetary income. The Commission still must pass delegated acts to provide guidance of the quantification of those thresholds. In the meantime, we can say most assuredly that in the internet sometimes the size does really matter.

About the author

I am mainly involved in representing national and foreign clients before all judicial bodies in the field of intellectual and industrial property and in civil matters in general. I am also familiar with related disciplines such as civil and commercial contracts licensing and agency agreements, etc.

In the field of industrial property, I have experience in patent litigation in different technical fields such as pharmaceuticals, telecommunications and mechanics. I have also been involved in trademark, design, copyright and unfair competition proceedings.

Although I have worked with a wide range of clients, I have been involved with international clients.

My motto is to handle the matters entrusted to me as if they were my own. To this end, it is vital to stud the client, their needs and the assignment in depth.

Speaks Spanish, Galician and English

Contact

We are full prepared to answer your questions and attend to your legal needs. We can help you.