Digital Services Act

On November 28, 2022, the European Commission launched a public consultation on whether the following three EU consumer laws remain adequate for ensuring a high level of consumer protection in the digital environment:

  • the Consumer Rights Directive (Directive 2011/83/EU, as amended), which sets out the minimum information traders must provide to EU consumers and which offers consumers certain rights, such as the right to withdraw from a contract;
  • the Unfair Contract Terms Directive (Directive 93/13/EEC, as amended), which prohibits terms in “standardized” (i.e., non-negotiable) business-to-consumer agreements that cause a significant imbalance between the parties rights and obligations to the detriment of consumers; and
  • the Unfair Commercial Practices Directive (Directive 2005/29/EC, as amended), which prohibits commercial practices considered unfair, for example, because they are misleading or aggressive.

The public consultation consists of filling out a short questionnaire, which needs to be submitted by February 20, 2023.  It is aimed at stakeholders that operate in the digital environment, such as online platforms.…

Continue Reading New Data Laws Prompt European Commission to Open Consultation on EU Consumer Laws

On October 4, 2022, the EU adopted the Digital Services Act (“DSA”), which imposes new rules on providers of intermediary services (e.g., cloud services, file-sharing services, search engines, social networks and online marketplaces).  The DSA will enter into force on November 16, 2022 — although it will only fully apply as of February 17, 2024. …

Continue Reading EU Adopts Digital Services Act

The Digital Services Act (“DSA”) is nearing final approval. The DSA imposes new rules on providers of intermediary services (e.g., cloud services, file-sharing services, search engines, social networks and online marketplaces). As we reported in July, the European Parliament voted to adopt the DSA on 5 July 2022. As we wait for the Council to adopt it, there have been a couple of updates in recent weeks, which we set out below. We will keep this blog updated as the finish line approaches.…

Continue Reading Nearing the Finish Line: Updates on the Digital Services Act

On April 23, 2022, the European Parliament and Council of the EU announced that they reached a provisional political agreement on the Digital Services Act (“DSA”) during their final trilogue meeting.  The news comes roughly one month after the provisional political agreement on the Digital Markets Act (“DMA”).

Both acts are part of the European…

On January 20, 2022, the European Parliament agreed amendments to the draft version of the Digital Services Act (“DSA”) that the Council agreed on November 25, 2021(see the European Parliament’s announcement here and agreed text here;  see our blog post about the Council’s draft here).  As a next step, the Parliament will discuss these…

On November 25, 2021, the Council of the European Union reached an agreement on the draft Digital Services Act (“DSA”) (see here and here) and the Digital Markets Act (“DMA”) (see here) bringing them one step closer to adoption.  The European Parliament will discuss the drafts on December 9 and plans to announce…