Regulation (EU) 2022/2065 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 19 October 2022 on a single market for digital services (Digital Services Act or DSA) began its full application on 17 February 2024.
It is a European Union Regulation, directly applicable in Portugal, and its main goals are to guarantee the effectiveness of fundamental rights online, protect consumers and combat the dissemination of illegal content online, as well as the social risks of disinformation or other illegal or illicit content.
In particular, the DSA adds to the horizontal framework of conditional exemptions from liability for intermediary service providers (now updated) a set of due diligence obligations, adapted and proportionate (according to a hierarchical logic) to specific categories of intermediary service providers (depending on their role, size and impact on the information ecosystem).
It also contains provisions on implementation, co-operation and monitoring compliance, enshrining a shared monitoring model between the European Commission and national authorities, including a "digital services co-ordinator". In Portugal, this role will be taken on by ANACOM.
ML Digital Clusters' Digital Services & E-Commerce team has prepared a comprehensive guide to understanding the DSA and is fully available for any support required in this area.