7. July 2022
On July 5, 2022, the EU Parliament voted in favor of the long-awaited Digital Markets Act (DMA) and Digital Services Act (DSA) following trilogue talks and agreements held between Parliament, Council, and European Commission earlier this year.
While the DSA amending the e-Commerce directive strictly prohibits specific forms of targeted advertising and misleading practices, the DMA can be viewed as the Competition law component that sets out stricter obligations for large online platforms within the Commission’s Digital Services Package.
Upon entry into force, advertisements targeting children, advertisements based on sensitive data, and dark patterns will no longer be permitted. Further, online platforms need to provide its users with the option and choice to not receive recommendations based on profiling. What the DSA also seeks to do, is to strengthen platform’s accountability and transparency. This means that these platforms have to provide authorities and vetted researchers with access to information on the content moderation rules the respective platform uses as well as information on the algorithms used by recommender systems.
The spread of illegal content, such as hate speech, is also being addressed by these legislations obliging large platforms to respond quickly with due regard to other fundamental rights implicated.
Online platforms and other service providers not respecting the new obligations, may be fined with 10% of their annual total turnover in case of violations of the DMA, and 6% for violations of the DSA.
4. December 2020
The European Commission and the High Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy outlined a new EU-US agenda for global change, which was published on December 2nd, 2020. It constitutes a proposal for a new, forward-looking transatlantic cooperation covering a variety of matters, including data protection.
The draft plan states the following guiding principles:
- Advance of global common goods, providing a solid base for stronger multilateral action and institutions that will support all like-minded partners to join.
- Pursuing common interests and leverage collective strength to deliver results on strategic priorities.
- Looking for solutions that respect common values of fairness, openness and competition – including where there are bilateral differences.
As said in the draft plan, it is a “once-in-a-generation” opportunity to forge a new global alliance. It includes an appeal for the EU and US to bury the hatchet on persistent sources of transatlantic tension and join forces to shape the digital regulatory environment. The proposal aims to create a shared approach to enforcing data protection law and combatting cybersecurity threats, which could also include possible restrictive measures against attributed attackers from third countries. Moreover, a transatlantic agreement concerning Artificial Intelligence forms a part of the recommendation. The purpose is setting a blueprint for regional and global standards. The EU also wants to openly discuss diverging views on data governance and facilitate free data flow with trust on the basis of high safeguards. Furthermore, the creation of a specific dialogue with the US on the responsibility of online platforms and Big Tech is included in the proposal as well as the development of a common approach to protecting critical technologies.
The draft plan is expected to be submitted for endorsement by the European Council at a meeting on December 10-11th, 2020. It suggests an EU-US Summit in the first half of 2021 as the moment to launch the new transatlantic agenda.
