On 2 December 2021, EuroISPA presented the fifth online event of its DSA in Focus series, sponsored by LINX. This time, the event focused on the DSA’s provisions on the country-of-origin principle, extra-territorial jurisdiction and the Digital Services Coordinators. You can revisit the interventions of our speakers here or below.

The event gathered a distinguished expert panel debating the implementation, the extra-territorial application and the enforcement of the DSA. It was formed by Michał Pukaluk, Director of the Digital Policy Department in the Office of the Polish Prime Minister, Christian Dawson, Executive Director with the i2Coalition, as well as Malcolm Hutty, Chair of EuroISPA’s Intermediary Liability Committee.

Thomas Bihlmayer, Member of the Board of EuroISPA, moderated the panel. In his introductory remarks, he emphasized EuroISPA’s support for increased harmonisation of procedures to tackle illegal content across the EU, in order to ensure legal certainty for businesses and a safe environment for users online.

Michał Pukaluk mentioned that, while the country-of-origin principle needs to be preserved, it will be important to ensure the involvement of the country of destination in the enforcement. Besides, he stated that during the negotiations in the Council, the basic exemptions for SMEs were maintained. Moreover, he expressed his satisfaction with the fact that the DSA is ensuring that illegal content is treated equally offline and online.

Christian Dawson pointed out the dangers of web blocking imposed on Internet infrastructure. He reminded that the Internet infrastructure is mostly formed by small companies, which drive the economy, and which are struggling with burdensome regulatory requirements, such as the ones imposed by the GDPR. 

Malcolm Hutty stated that EuroISPA is supportive of the Commission’s attempt to balance the text and welcomes its broad, cross-cutting and horizontal perspective. Besides, he argued that the country-of-origin principle needs to be respected to ensure EU principles.

EuroISPA wishes to extend its gratitude to the speakers for sharing their knowledge on the new DSA regime and for the open exchange with the audience. We are looking forward to our final event, taking place on Wednesday, 26 January 2022, wrapping up the series.

On 29 September 2021, EuroISPA presented the fourth online event of its DSA in Focus series, sponsored by LINX. This time, the event focused on the DSA articles on the limited exemption from secondary liability for intermediary services, due diligence, own-initiative investigations and general monitoring provisions. You can revisit the interventions of our speakers here or below.

The event gathered a distinguished expert panel debating the objectives of these measures, the practical challenges for implementation and possible ways forward. It was formed by MEP Patrick Breyer, Rapporteur for the LIBE Opinion on the DSA, Dr. Christina Angelopoulos, Lecturer in Intellectual Property Law at the University of Cambridge, Catherine Garcia-van Hoogstraten, Director Responsible Technology Policy, EU Government Affairs at Microsoft, as well as Malcolm Hutty, Chair of EuroISPA’s Intermediary Liability Committee.

EuroISPA’s President, Alexandra Laffitte, moderated the panel. In her introductory remarks, she emphasized that EuroISPA has been advocating for over 20 years in favour of the limited exemption from secondary liability established in the E-Commerce Directive.

MEP Patrick Breyer shared his opinion on the European Commission’s proposal on the DSA, providing for a limited exemption from secondary liability for mere conduit, caching, and hosting service providers. He argued that there is consensus that these provisions are working well and adding new categories would constitute a risk. Moreover, with regards to the own-initiative investigations of intermediaries, he stressed that law enforcement should be kept in the hands of judicial independent authorities, rather than private actors.

Dr. Christina Angelopoulos agreed with MEP Patrick Breyer and insisted that intermediaries are not duty bearers. Besides, she stated that the European Parliament should not move away from the horizontal approach of the European Commission on sector-specific legislation.

Catherine Garcia-van Hoogstraten argued that online service providers should be able to proactively take down illegal content with appropriate tools. Besides, she agreed with preserving the current categorization of the European Commission’s proposal on the DSA.

Malcolm Hutty also welcomed the horizontal approach of the European Commission. Commenting on amendments which created primary liability for intermediaries, he pointed out that this would be unproportionate and lead to over removal of legitimate content. Furthermore, he stressed the need for strict rules against requiring general monitoring.

The panel discussion was followed by an open Q&A session, where participants had the opportunity to exchange with our speakers on these issues.

EuroISPA wishes to extend its gratitude to the speakers for sharing their knowledge on the new DSA regime and for the open exchange with the audience. We are looking forward to our fifth event, taking place by the end of October, which will focus on the implementation, the extraterritorial effect, and enforcement of the DSA.

On 9 September 2021, EuroISPA presented the third online event of its DSA in Focus series, sponsored by LINX. This time, the event focused on the transparency requirements for intermediaries, online platforms and VLOPs, as well as on the issue of access to data, statements of reasons, vetted researchers and access to data, etc. You can revisit the interventions of our speakers here or below.

The expert panel was formed by:  

• Irene Roche Laguna, Deputy Head of Unit, E-Commerce and Platforms at DG CNECT;  
• Michal Feix, Senior Public Affairs Advisor to Seznam.cz; and  
• Diego Naranjo, Head of Policy of EDRi.  

EuroISPA’s President, Alexandra Laffitte, moderated the panel after sharing introductory remarks, highlighting the role of EuroISPA as a strong proponent of transparency obligations for intermediaries which strike the right balance between the competing interests of Governments, users and the protection of companies.  

On the European Commission’s side, Irene Roche Laguna stressed that transparency is the true spirit of the DSA but that it must work in both ways: with a framework for users and authorities to understand why platforms and ISPs take certain decisions and for regulators to report on their activity. She also agreed on the need for grading the access to information depending on the nature of the risks.  

Michal Feix highlighted the importance for the DSA to build on the principles of the e-commerce Directive that have withstood the passing of time but also to consider the differences between, e.g., platforms and other services or recommender systems and advertising, when introducing new rules. In this regard, he noted it is crucial to have limits to transparency requirements in order to maintain the quality of the services they provide. Finally, when touching upon the issue of the statements of reasons, he warned the obligation to anonymize and publish all the decisions would particularly impact companies of the size of Seznam, as they will have to dedicate considerable resources to comply. 

Diego Naranjo emphasized the need for a transparent and balanced notice and action system, that tackles the risks related to the right of removal which would be granted to different stakeholders. He also noted the importance of making algorithms subject to scrutiny by authorities and understandable for users, stating that “online tracking and profiling practices needed to stop”. 

The panel discussion was followed by an open Q&A session, where participants had the opportunity to exchange with our speakers on these issues. 

EuroISPA wishes to extend its thanks to the speakers for sharing their knowledge on the new DSA regime and for the open exchange with the audience. We are looking forward to our fourth event, taking place on 29 September, which will allow our audience to learn about the intermediary liability framework, from own-initiative investigations to the “no general monitoring” rule. 

For further information on the upcoming events visit our dedicated webpage on euroispa.org/dsa-in-focus.

On 17 May 2021 EuroISPA hosted its second online event in the DSA in Focus series, which focused on provisions in the Digital Services Act (DSA) going beyond the notice and action processes, such as measures on codes of conduct, the know your business customer principle, trusted flaggers, and risk mitigation for very large online platforms (VLOPs). You can watch the full recording of the event here or below.

The event, which was made possible by LINX, featured a distinguished expert panel which examined the topic in great detail. It included Mr Prabhat Agarwal, Head of Unit in charge of E-Commerce and Platforms at DG CNECT in the European Commission, Mr Marco Pancini, Director of Public Policy at YouTube, as well as Ms Heleen Uijt de Haag, Deputy Director at the Dutch Digital Economy Department within the Ministry of Economic Affairs and Climate Policy. EuroISPA’s President Alexandra Laffitte moderated the panel, whilst Malcolm Hutty, Chair of EuroISPA’s Intermediary Liability, framed the conversation with introductory remarks.

Malcolm Hutty opened the session with several questions for the panel and general remarks. He welcomed the KYBC’s focus on marketplaces, and stressed the importance of codes of conduct. When it comes to the role of trusted flaggers, he challenged the proposal, asking whether the “concept loses value if the right to decide who is trusted is removed from the operator”. As regards risk mitigation and VLOPs, he stressed that the provision, as currently drafted, would risk to create uncertainty for businesses, as the list of risks is currently open ended.

When illustrating the Commission’s chosen regulatory approach, Prabhat Agarwal recognised the success of self-regulation in addressing emerging phenomena swiftly. However, he explained that the limitations of self-regulation have made it necessary to make binding some of the existing voluntary frameworks. In this respect he noted: “We continue to think that coregulation plays a crucial role and the DSA is not the end of it”.

Marco Pancini provided the audience with interesting details about YouTube’s trusted flaggers’ programme. He said that, thanks to such systems, whenever platforms receive referrals from experts these are taken into account with the appropriate level of priority. He pointed out that “YouTube’s  goal is to leverage positive exchanges with experts, improving the quality of our content moderation activities”.

Heleen Uijt de Haag welcomed the Commission’s proposal, describing it as well-balanced. She appreciated that the main principles of the E-Commerce Directive, such as the limited liability for service providers and the county of origin principle, are maintained. When referring to the topic of trusted flaggers, she said that “we need safeguards to ensure the mechanisms are not abused, as this could have detrimental effects on freedom of speech online, and the right to privacy”.

Panellists then had an open discussion with the audience, focussing on issues such as the modalities to appoint trusted flaggers, the know your business principle, and ways to tackle disinformation in the context of the current pandemic.

EuroISPA would like to extend its gratitude to the speakers for sharing their insights on the new DSA, contributing to yet another successful DSA in Focus event. We look forward to our third session, which will take place in June, and which will focus on reporting obligations and transparency in the context of the DSA.

For further information on the upcoming events visit our dedicated webpage on euroispa.org/dsa-in-focus.