DSA: need for a level playing field to drive online innovation in Europe

Ahead of the vote of the European Parliament on the Digital Services Act (DSA) this week, retailers are calling for the new rules to support competitiveness online and foster innovation. Christel Delberghe, EuroCommerce Director General, said today:

“Retailers and wholesalers need the DSA to create a framework which protects consumers’ interests and a lays down a set of clear rules and a level playing field for all market players, irrespective of the sales channels on which they offer their goods and services, and where they are established. We are concerned that the Digital Services Act as now drafted already seeks - with no proper impact assessment - to regulate numerous other aspects outside its scope. We call upon MEPs to avoid a raft of amendments which exacerbate this situation. There is a risk that all these rules will only lead to higher compliance costs and red tape for businesses established in the EU but not for those outside. This could end up undermining Europe’s ability to compete with powerful players in the US and China.”

In summary, EuroCommerce believes the EU legal framework for a digital single market should:

• ensure high consumer trust;
• provide legal certainty for all market players irrespective of which sales channels they use to offer their services;
• ensure balanced responsibilities for all market players depending on their position in the supply chain; and
• create a level playing field for all businesses that offer products to EU consumers wherever they are established.

and calls upon the Parliament to avoid adopting amendments which work against these overall objectives.

Examples of proposals which risk making Europe uncompetitive and not relevant to the DSA’s overall objectives include disproportionate restrictions on online advertising, new data protection provisions which overlap or clash with existing rules, measures on sustainability irrelevant to this instrument and covered by existing or proposed legislation elsewhere, extending the use of trusted flaggers to commercial interests, and far-reaching new requirements on the use of recommender systems and algorithms.