On Wednesday evening, 19 January, MEPs voted on new amendments tabled ahead of the plenary session on the Digital Services Act (DSA) (see EUROPE 12853/3). The results were not known at the time of going to press. The final vote on the DSA regulation will take place on Thursday 20 January.
While most MEPs who spoke in the debate recognised the importance of ending - in the words of a majority of MEPs - the “digital wild west”, some regretted that the legislation did not go far enough.
“The Digital Services Act needs to become a gamer-changer for protecting our fundamental rights online from unscrupulous tech giants and surveillance-hungry governments. The time has come to take back control of the digital age!”, said Patrick Breyer (Greens/EFA, Germany).
The European Parliament’s Committee on Civil Liberties (LIBE), of which Mr Breyer is a member, has tabled several amendments strengthening privacy protection, the possibility of using online anonymity and limiting government surveillance.
The LIBE Committee was not the only one to submit amendments. The Committee on Industry, Research and Energy (ITRE) has also tabled a number of amendments, mainly to protect small and medium-sized enterprises and to make it easier for them to implement the future regulation.
“In the face of the legal vacuum that GAFAM has enjoyed up to now, it was time for Europe to put an end to the anarchy of the ‘web’. The text voted this week is unfortunately only a timid step forward”, said Didier Geoffroy (EPP, France), who worked on the DSA text in the European Parliament’s Committee on Legal Affairs (JURI).
The Parliamentary committee also tabled several amendments, such as introducing seller tracking, allowing intellectual property rights holders to benefit from ‘trusted flagger’ status - and thus be able to seize platforms more easily -, banning the collection of data for advertising purposes and default profiling of users.
‘Dark patterns’ and targeted advertising
During the debate, several MEPs, including the rapporteur on the DSA regulation for the Committee on the Internal Market and Consumer Protection (IMCO), Christel Schaldemose (S&D, Denmark), also insisted on the need to remove ‘dark patterns’ that “mislead users”.
The issue of targeted advertising came up several times during the discussions. “We need to improve the text. This draft compromise does not put enough emphasis on banning or controlling targeted advertising. A year ago, everyone voted for this. But it seems that some EPP members are backing out”, said Tiemo Wölken (S&D, Germany).
This statement prompted a reaction from the rapporteur of the Digital Markets Act (DMA) (see EUROPE 12866/12), Andreas Schwab (EPP, Germany), denying Mr Wölken’s remarks.
These exchanges on the issue of targeted advertising in Parliament come as the European Corporate Observatory published a report on Tuesday 18 January in which it points to intense lobbying by major players in the digital sector and highlights targeted advertising as the main pressure point (see EUROPE 12871/11). (Original version in French by Thomas Mangin)