From February 17, 2024, the Digital Services Act (“DSA”) will apply to providers of intermediary services (e.g., cloud services, file-sharing services, search engines, social networks and online marketplaces). These entities will be required to comply with a number of obligations, including implementing notice-and-action mechanisms, complying with detailed rules on terms and conditions, and publishing transparency reports on content moderation practices, among others. For more information on the DSA, see our previous blog posts here and here.
As part of its powers conferred under the DSA, the European Commission is empowered to adopt delegated and implementing acts* on certain aspects of implementation and enforcement of the DSA. In 2023, the Commission adopted one delegated act on supervisory fees to be paid by very large online platforms and very large online search engines (“VLOPs” and “VLOSEs” respectively), and one implementing act on procedural matters relating to the Commission’s enforcement powers. The Commission has proposed several other delegated and implementing acts, which we set out below. The consultation period for these draft acts have now passed, and we anticipate that they will be adopted in the coming months.
Pending Delegated Acts
- Draft Delegated Act on Conducting Independent Audits. This draft delegated act defines the steps that designated VLOPs and VLOSEs will need to follow to verify the independence of the auditors, particularly setting the rules for the procedures, methodology and templates used. According to the draft delegated act, designated VLOPS and VLOSEs should be subject to their first audit at the latest 16 months after their designation. The consultation period for this draft delegated act ended on June 2, 2023.
- Draft Delegated Act on Data Access for Research. This draft delegated act specifies the conditions under which vetted researchers may access data from VLOPs and VLOSEs. The consultation period for this draft delegated act ended on May 31, 2023.
Continue Reading Draft Delegated and Implementing Acts Pursuant to the Digital Services Act