Brussels, BELGIUM -- The Computer & Communications Industry Association (CCIA) shared its recommendations on the EU Digital Services Act (DSA) proposal.

The DSA proposal was presented by the European Commission in December 2020. CCIA called the DSA proposal “an opportunity to create a better functioning EU Digital Single Market, provide clarity on everyone’s responsibilities, and safeguard online rights.” 

It remains to be seen whether the negotiations between the EU Member States and the European Parliament will lead to the intended EU-wide law. Notably, the ‘country of origin principle’ is questioned, meaning that companies risk having to deal with up to 27 national regimes, instead of one set of rules and one regulator. In addition, several countries are even moving forward with national rules rather than prioritising EU-wide DSA legislation. This risks eroding the foundation of the EU Single Market. 

CCIA believes that online illegalities must be addressed rigorously regardless of the size of the service they happen on. Having a specific regime only for ‘very large online platforms’ will just encourage rogue players to prey on services subject to fewer requirements.

The following can be attributed to CCIA Senior Manager, Victoria de Posson: 

"We welcome the ambition of the DSA but are worried that national initiatives risk leading to exactly the kind of fragmentation of the Single Market that the proposal is supposed to prevent. How will startups be able to grow in the EU when they are faced with national rules and regulatory ceilings when they reach a certain size?” 

“An ambitious Digital Services Act should apply EU-wide and provide clarity for all online intermediaries.”