On Tuesday, 19 December, the European Commission announced that it had signed an administrative arrangement with the Dutch Authority for Consumers and Markets so as to support its supervisory powers under the Digital Services Act (DSA) (see EUROPE 13314/41).
The Dutch authority will thus join the network of [digital] services coordinators within the scope of the Digital Services Act and, as provided for in the provisions of the DSA, will have to develop expertise and capabilities that will help the European Commission identify and assess systemic risks as well as carry out fact-finding activities as part of its investigations into platforms’ compliance.
The Netherlands is the fourth country to appoint its national coordinator—after France, Ireland (see EUROPE 13277/18), and Italy (see EUROPE 13282/25). These authorities will be part of the European Board for Digital Services, composed of one competent authority per Member State. This board will be established by February 2024.
The remaining Member States must each designate a national coordinator before 17 February. On 18 October, the European Commission had recommended that, in view of the increasing volume of illegal content and disinformation online, Member States fast-track implementing the DSA and designate an independent authority “now” so as to finish setting up the future network of coordinators (see EUROPE 13274/3). (Original version in French by Thomas Mangin)