Tag Archive for: Digital Services Act

Recap of Past Event: The Upcoming DSA Trilogues and the Future of Content Moderation 

On 26 January 2022, EuroISPA presented the sixth and final online event of its DSA in Focus series, kindly sponsored by LINX. This time, the panelists took stock of the discussions the co-legislators had in 2021 and shared insights on what can be expected in the upcoming trilogues. You can revisit the interventions of our speakers here or below. 

The event gathered a distinguished expert panel comprised of Mathieu Weill, Head of the Digital Economy Department at the French Ministry of Economy, Stefano Montanari, Adviser to the Council of Europe Commissioner for Human Rights and Tobias Schmid, Commissioner for European Affairs of the German Media Authorities (DLM) and former Chair of ERGA.  

Alexandra Laffitte, President of EuroISPA, moderated the panel. In her introductory remarks, she commended the progress made by the co-legislators and the preservation of key principles of the E-Commerce Directive in the DSA, such as the limited liability regime and the prohibition of general monitoring obligations.  

Mathieu Weill emphasized that the DSA is a horizontal framework. Besides, he mentioned that the regulatory burden that has been added was proportionate to the size and the type of players. Finally, he stated that the French Presidency will try to advance the mandate of the Council rapidly and that they are very encouraged by the vote in the European Parliament.  

The necessity to assess and adapt the DSA on a regular basis, was highlighted by Stefano Montanari, as the digital world evolves more rapidly than the regulatory one. Moreover, he argued that having strict safeguards and clear limits on the work of trusted flaggers will be needed.  

Finally, from the perspective of a media regulator, Tobias Schmid stressed that the DSA is not very concrete in certain areas and that the trilogues should focus on how to find a balanced system between regulation, co-regulation and self-regulation.  

This session marked the end of our DSA in Focus series, and EuroISPA would like to once again thank all the speakers for sharing their expertise during this series. From discussing the DSA’s liability regime to reflecting on its transparency and reporting obligations, we have covered a variety of topics, and we would like to extend our gratitude to the audiences for the open exchanges. In the coming months, we hope to announce more events on legislative files relevant to European ISPs and other industry stakeholders, so stay tuned!  

PRESS RELEASE: EuroISPA welcomes progress on the DSA

Brussels, 20 January 2022: EuroISPA, the pan-European association of Internet Services Providers Associations, welcomes today’s plenary vote on the Digital Services Act (DSA) in the European Parliament, paving the way for interinstitutional negotiations and a potential final agreement in 2022.

Malcolm Hutty, Chair of EuroISPA’s Intermediary Liability Committee, said: “We commend the work of the Rapporteurs and the Shadow Rapporteurs to create a regulatory framework ensuring a safe online environment for users while fostering innovation and competitiveness within the Single Market. The preservation of key principles of the E-Commerce Directive, such as the limited liability regime and the prohibition of general monitoring obligations, will ensure that the Internet industry can continue to thrive for the benefit of all Europeans.”

At the same time, further work in the interinstitutional negotiations will be needed to guarantee a truly future-proof framework. For instance, a clearer distinction between online platforms and pure hosting services providers is needed in order to grant legal certainty for all parties. Provisions on orders to take down content and to provide information to authorities should respect the country-of-origin principle and should be in line with existing and upcoming legislation such as the e-evidence package.

Alexandra Laffitte, President of EuroISPA, shared the association’s views on the upcoming interinstitutional negotiations: “We encourage policymakers to keep the DSA a horizontal framework, to avoid creating obligations which would result in primary liability for service providers, and to ensure that the upcoming rules are balanced and proportionate, especially taking into account the type and size of businesses. We stand ready to support the co-legislators in their efforts to formulate a future-proof framework for the online environment.”

EuroISPA shares its views on the Digital Services Act

Brussels, 31 March 2021 EuroISPA publishes its views on the Digital Services Act, reflecting the views of the European Internet industry.

EuroISPA is the voice of the European Internet industry, representing over 2,000 Internet Service Providers across Europe, all along the Internet value chain. As we have been engaging in discussions on intermediary liability and content moderation for over 20 years, EuroISPA is proud to share with the EU institutions and interested stakeholders its position on the Digital Services Act (DSA).

Overall, EuroISPA supports the DSA and its objectives to protect consumers and their fundamental rights online, to foster transparency and accountability of online platforms, and to favour innovation, growth, and competitiveness within the Single Market. In particular, we welcome the European Commission’s decision to adopt an evolutionary approach maintaining the key principles of the E-Commerce Directive, such as the limited exemption from secondary liability, while creating a due diligence framework for intermediary services.

At the same time, EuroISPA believes that several changes would be needed in order to achieve a regulation that truly fosters innovation and growth in the Digital Single Market. Therefore, EuroISPA put forward recommendations on every chapter of the DSA, spanning from the definition of online platforms, to intermediary liability provisions, from the due diligence rules, to the overall governance structure.

You can download our position below:

EuroISPA reponds to DSA public consultation

After over two years of hard work and collaboration, EuroISPA is happy to announce that we have submitted our response to the European Commission’s public consultation on the Digital Services Act. As an association we strive to find a balance between diverse needs, establishing a framework that stimulates EU businesses whilst protecting citizens online.

The Digital Services Act is comprehensive in scope and its impact on the ISP sector will be wide-ranging, as it will review the 20 year old E-Commerce Directive, which has proven essential for finding a balanced liability regime. As such, it has been a priority at EuroISPA to enable ongoing discussions on the DSA over the last two years, gathering insights from our members and coming to decisions that take into account the needs of players across the ISP sector and across the continent. 

Submitting our response is an important milestone for our work on this issue. Indeed, these are the exciting moments of EU-level policy activities, where we see the long discussions and hard work come to fruition, and where we see the needs and recommendations of industry experts being submitted straight to the hands of policy makers.

Read more here.