29. November 2022
The Digital Services Act (DSA) was finally adopted on 19 October 2022 and published on 27 October 2022. The following provides an overview of this important piece of European legislation.
B2B and B2C providers of digital intermediary services (intermediaries) who provide users/recipients with access to goods, services and content. In particular, providers of
(a) mere conduit services (Art. 3 lit. g sublit. i), such as internet exchange points, wireless access points, virtual private networks and DNS services;
(b) caching services (Art. 3 lit. g sublit. ii), such as content delivery networks, reverse proxies and content adaptation proxies;
(c) hosting services (Art. 3 lit. g sublit. iii), such as cloud computing and web hosting;
(d) online platforms (Art. 3 lit. i), such as social networks and online marketplaces; and
(e) online search engines (Art. 3 lit. j).
Key Aspects | DSA Articles |
---|---|
Liability privileges (safe harbor principles) largely similar to the current European e-Commerce Directive. | Art. 4 to 8 |
The duty to designate a single point of contact for competent authorities and users/recipients and to publish its contact details. | Art. 11 and 12 |
For providers without an establishment in the EU, the appointment of a legal representative within the EU. | Art. 13 |
The duty to remove illegal content swiftly and efficiently upon the order of a court or administrative body. | Art. 9 |
Formal content moderation requirements and procedures, provisions on notice-and-action mechanisms, internal complaint-handling procedures regarding adverse decisions towards users/recipients and to establish an out-of-court dispute settlement body. | Art. 16, 17, 20 and 21 |
Various transparency duties, inter alia including the duty to provide transparent information on restrictions affecting the provision of information, such as content moderation, recommender system transparency and new rules on transparency reporting. | Art. 14, 15, 24, 27 and 42 |
Enhanced protection of minors, including the ban of profiling-based ads. | Art. 28 |
For B2C online marketplaces, the duty to collect and verify data of their traders (KYBC). | Art. 30 |
Prohibition of dark patterns and requirements for compliance by design. | Art. 25 and 31 |
Prohibition of profiling-based ads using sensitive data (e.g. health-related data). | Art. 26 para. 3 |
Possibility for users/recipients to claim compensation for damages caused by infringements of the DSA. | Art. 54 |
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