MEPs meeting in plenary, on Tuesday 5 July in Strasbourg, endorsed the Interinstitutional Agreement on the two texts of the digital package: the Digital Services Act (DSA) (539 votes in favour, 54 against, 30 abstentions) (EUROPE 12973/11) and the Digital Markets Act (DMA) (588 votes in favour, 11 against, 31 abstentions) (see EUROPE 12953/31).
As a reminder, the DSA, on which the European Parliament reached a provisional agreement with the Council of the EU on 23 April, should, among other things, put in place new rules, proportionate to the size of the company, to fight against illegal content online and require large platforms to react quickly. Provisions on access to algorithms and data as well as targeted advertising are included in the text (see EUROPE 12938/6).
“The digital world has become a Wild West where the strongest and the biggest set the rules. Now there is a sheriff in town: the DSA”, commented Christel Schaldemose (S&D, Denmark), rapporteur on the DSA.
The DMA, for which an Interinstitutional Agreement was reached on 24 March, should make it possible, among other things, to regulate the market and the commercial practices of gatekeepers in order to avoid unfair competition (see EUROPE 12918/25).
“The aim of the Digital Single Market is for Europe to host the best companies, not just the biggest. That is why we need to focus on implementing this legislation”, said Andreas Schwab (EPP, Germany).
100 experts to be recruited by the Commission by 2024
The German MEP also warned, at the same time, that such legislation could only be effective if enough staff were dedicated to its implementation.
“The Commission needs to recruit enough staff”, he reacted on Twitter in the wake of the vote on the DSA-DMA package, while several associations, such as the European Consumers Organisation (BEUC), had also highlighted this aspect.
On this point, although no precise and definitive figures were given by the two rapporteurs at the joint press conference in Strasbourg, the European Commissioner for Internal Market, Thierry Breton, announced that the Commission would recruit 100 experts by 2024.
“The Commission has to manage with several budgets, but the DMA will also work if all thegatekeepers have a team of their own. It is our task to ensure that companies comply with the texts”, added Mr Schwab.
First potential gatekeeper appointments starting March 2023
The DMA and the DSA will still have to be formally adopted by the EU Council in July and September respectively. The implementation of the DSA provides for a transposition period of 15 months and the 1st of January 2024 has been chosen as the latest date.
The AMD will be published in the EU Official Journal “by October 1st at the latest”, Andreas Schwab said. Therefore, “there will be six months of transposition. On the 1st of March, the Commission will be able to start the process of appointing ‘gatekeepers’. An important question will be which platforms will be designated first”, he concluded.
See the text on the DSA: https://aeur.eu/f/2ho
See the text on the DMA: https://aeur.eu/f/2hn (Thomas Mangin)