Eight countries lack formal regulator to oversee platform rules
Eight EU member states have not yet formally appointed a national regulator tasked with enforcing the Digital Services Act (DSA), the European Commission said today (20 March).
Digital Services Coordinators, intended to be online platforms’ main point of contact in helping the commission with collecting evidence on implementation of the platform rules, were meant to be designated by 17 February.
The commission handles enforcement of the 22 largest platforms or VLOPs including YouTube, Booking.com and Facebook, but for the smaller platforms it’s the national authorities that check compliance.
Rita Wezenbeek, director of platforms policy in the commission, told lawmakers at a hearing on the DSA in the European Parliament, that eight authorities have not been formally designated.
This leads to issues for platforms that require guidance on implementation, as well as problems within the Digital Services Act board.
The board gathers national regulators and the commission to discuss enforcement and work streams related to elections, child safety, illegal content and protection of consumers on online marketplaces. They are currently discussing election guidance, as well as the formal proceedings started in recent weeks against X, TikTok and AliExpress.
“The board finds a way to deal with [the missing regulators]. Authorities that are pending approval are present in the meeting but they cannot vote,” Wezenbeek said.
Among the missing regulators are countries including Poland and Lithuania, home to online platforms such as Allegro and Vinted.
Under the DSA, EU-wide rules that came into force last August, online platforms with more than 45 million monthly average users in the EU must abide by strict rules, such as transparency requirements and the protection of minors online.
So far, the commission has designated 22 platforms, and more are expected to follow soon, such as fashion platform Shein.
