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Common advocacy position on regional interventions under the Digital Services Act

Sofija Tovarović

Civil society organizations from the Western Balkans countries, including “Zašto ne”, have adopted a unified position concerning the implementation of the Digital Services Act (DSA) in the region. The aim of this initiative is to promote the proper and effective alignment of national legislation with the DSA, as well as to ensure that regulation of digital platforms does not compromise fundamental rights and freedoms.

The common advocacy position of civil society organizations from the region identifies priority areas for intervention in the process of alignment with the DSA, based on the following principles:  

Red lines approach – avoid misinterpretations and misapplications that could undermine the core principles of online platform regulation:   

  • Regulation of processes, not content: alignment with the DSA should focus on processes of content moderation rather than regulation of content such as hate speech.  
  • No national regulation of large platforms: national interventions in regulation of very large online platforms and search engines could lead to fragmented and inconsistent regulatory landscape.

Key enabling mechanisms that should be ensured in the alignment process include:

  • Legal representation: platforms should appoint legal representatives or designate points of contact in each country. 
  • Safeguards against illegal content: platforms should implement notice-and-action mechanisms to handle illegal content efficiently. 
  • Trusted flaggers: independent trusted flaggers will enhance content moderation processes and platform accountability, while maintaining independence from undue influence.   
  • Data access for research purposes: researchers’ access to data is crucial for transparency and accountability in platform operations.  
  • Multistakeholder approach: implementation of rules governing digital services in a way that involves multiple stakeholders, including civil society, will ensure alignment with local contexts and needs while upholding fundamental rights. 
  • Independent digital services coordinators: institutional, political and financial independence of digital services coordinators is essential for the unbiased enforcement. 

Involvement of civil society:

Civil society plays a crucial role in the DSA implementation, therefore their involvement should be actively encouraged in the alignment process as well. In this respect, it is necessary to strengthen the capacities of civil society and create a regional network of experts, but also to raise awareness among members of civil society on the DSA principles and its impact on the media legal landscape, moving away from the wrong assumption that the DSA is a tool for regulating hate speech or disinformation online.

Full document is available here.