European Publishers’ Council Statement following the European Commission’s proposal of the Digital Services Act & Digital Markets Act on 15 December 2020:
Yesterday the European Commission unveiled ambitious new rules to regulate the responsibilities of companies running digital services. The Digital Services and Markets Acts together aim to create a level playing field for digital businesses to grow within the single market and compete globally while taming the harmful excesses of the digital gatekeepers. While presenting the package, the Commission also emphasised their aims to create a safer digital space for users of digital services, and to protect their fundamental rights online.
European Publishers Council Executive Director Angela Mills Wade said:
“We welcome that the Commission is taking a targeted approach to regulating the mega platforms, seeking to inject fairness and transparency and to restore competition. These new rules of the game have the potential to boost innovation and go some way towards correcting the harmful market consolidation that has negatively impacted Europe’s media and information landscape. Our job will be to hone the proposals into a clear and enforceable legal framework”.
Commenting on the proposals further Angela Mills Wade said “Today’s DSA and DMA proposals mark a really important step in tackling the conduct of digital gatekeepers. However we regret that the Commission missed this opportunity to create binding mechanisms for publishers to negotiate with gatekeepers.”The EPC feels that even though proposals are wide-ranging and ambitious, when it comes to the prohibitions and obligations, more clarity is needed to address the conduct of gatekeepers.
To consult the package please follow these links:
European Commission website: Digital Service Act Package
European Commission website: Proposal regulation for Digital Services Act
European Commission pdf URL: Proposal regulation for Digital Markets Act
