Poland, Portugal, Spain, Cyprus, and Czechia did not grant their national watchdogs sufficient authority to enforce the Digital Services Act.
The European Commission has filed a complaint with the European Union’s highest court against Portugal, Spain, Poland, Cyprus, and Czechia for their failure to properly implement the Digital Services Act (DSA), the organisation announced on Wednesday.
The DSA, which was implemented in February of last year to safeguard users from illegal content and products online, was entirely implemented. Member states were required to designate a national authority responsible for the supervision of the regulations in their respective countries.
Those watchdogs are required to collaborate with the Commission, which independently supervises the greatest group of platforms, which serve over 45 million users on a monthly basis.
In addition, the countries were obligated to provide their regulators with sufficient resources to fulfil their responsibilities and to develop regulations regarding penalties for violations of the DSA.
According to the Commission’s statement, Poland neglected to designate and empower its authority to execute its obligations under the DSA.
The Commission determined that Czechia, Cyprus, Spain, and Portugal, which each designated a monitor, did not provide them with the requisite authority to fulfil their responsibilities under the regulation.
In early 2024, the EU executive initiated its infringement procedure by dispatching formal notices to the five countries. In the interim, none of the nations implemented the requisite measures.
In a separate instance, the Commission stated that it had intensified its proceedings against Bulgaria for not establishing a national regulator under the DSA and for failing to establish the rules for penalties. The Commission may also pursue legal action against Bulgaria if the deficiencies are not rectified within two months.
The Commission has initiated numerous investigations into potential breaches since the DSA was implemented for the greatest group of online platforms in late 2023.
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