Digital Services Act (DSA): Transparency vs privacy?

The Digital Services Act (DSA) is the biggest legislative effort to harmonise EU rules for digital services since the e-Commerce Directive in 2000. With DSA the Commission aims to consolidate a Digital Single Market across the EU, which will be the cornerstone of European recovery, innovation, and growth in a post-Covid world.  The Council agreed its position on the DSA in November 2021. The vote in the EP Plenary is foreseen in January 2022.  

This ELF Twitter Spaces will feature the following speakers:

• Ivars Ijabs, Member of the European Parliament, Renew Europe Group
• Benedikt Blomeyer, Director EU Policy, Allied for Startups
• Victoria de Posson, Senior Manager, Public Policy, Computer & Communications Industry Association (CCIA Europe) 

Moderated by Jennifer Baker, EU Policy and Tech Reporter

It’s an eleventh-hour debate to examine the following tensions in DSA provisions that are currently debated in the context of the EP’s position. Among others these include:  

1. Although data-sharing obligations for service providers can establish transparency and a clear accountability framework for online platforms, it may also infringe with the privacy of consumers, their fundamental rights, and even public security. 

2. The same transparency obligations may also compromise commercially sensitive information, and disrupt free and fair competition in the online environment.  

3. Disproportionate obligations for online service providers may also impair the ability of SMEs and startups to comply and compete with major players, thus stifling innovation and growth within the digital single market. 

4. Targeted advertising is undergoing a promising transformation due to the development of privacy preserving technologies. How can we encourage the evolution towards privacy-safe online advertising, including the development of privacy-protective methods while fostering economic recovery?