Arcom welcomes the entry into force of the European regulation on digital services for very large platforms and search engines

August 25, 2023 marks the first stage in the practical application of the European Digital ServicesAct (DSA) for major Internet players.

As of today, seventeen online platforms (mainly social networks and marketplaces) and two search engines, each used by more than 45 million European Union citizens, and designated by the European Commission[1], are obliged to comply with the most demanding obligations of this regulation in terms of public protection (offenses against human dignity, harassment, specific risks for persons under 18, online hate, discriminatory bias, sale of unlawful goods or services, etc.) and the stability of our democratic societies (disinformation, summons to violence, election destabilization operations coordinated by third-party states, etc.).

This ambitious text provides an innovative regulatory framework: it makes the major players in the digital sector accountable by requiring them to deploy all the means necessary to build a safer Internet; it also requires them to report on their actions in compliance with the high level of transparency legally required to better guarantee the digital freedoms of EU citizens.

To ensure consistent implementation of the European regulation at national level, the text makes provision for each European Union country to designate an independent authority to perform the functions of
"coordinator for digital services". The draft legislation aimed at securing and regulating the digital space, which has passed its first reading in the French Senate and will be examined by the French National Assembly this autumn, makes provision for this role to be entrusted to Arcom in France.

Together with its European counterparts, the Authority would then participate in a European Digital Services Committee to supervise the obligations of the major players regulated by the European Commission.

In addition, from February 17, 2024, the regulation will impose obligations - proportionate to their size - on platforms with fewer than 45 million users in Europe, under the supervision of national authorities. Working alongside the French national data protection agency (CNIL) and the General Directorate for Competition, Consumer Affairs and Fraud Control (DGCCRF), Arcom would be responsible for overseeing compliance with these obligations by digital services established in France.

Alongside the European Commission and other European regulators, Arcom is determined to apply its experience in digital regulation to the implementation of this pioneering text.

[1] The companies concerned are Alibaba AliExpress, Amazon Store, Apple AppStore, Booking.com, Facebook, Google Play, Google Maps, Google Shopping, Instagram, LinkedIn, Pinterest, Snapchat, TikTok, X (formerly Twitter), Wikipedia, YouTube and Zalando and two search engines: Bing and Google Search.