The Digital Services Act (DSA) - a BusinessEurope position paper

Key messages

• We support the goals of the DSA to ensure a safer, more predictable and trusted online environment.
• The DSA should focus on intermediaries disseminating public information to ensure a safer and more transparent online environment.
• While codes of conduct could curtail “systemic risks” that are harmful but not necessarily illegal, we agree that the DSA should focus on the removal of illegal goods & content online.
• Upholding the “country of origin” principle throughout the application of the DSA is of paramount importance.
• We agree that the current limited liability scheme of the eCommerce Directive should continue to be upheld and that authority orders should be harmonised to efficiently remove illegal content rapidly. We support harmonisation of the notice and action and trusted flagger mechanisms to ensure efficient removal of illegal goods and content online.
• We support no general obligation to monitor and the ability for platforms to be encouraged to carry out their own investigations to actively remove illegal content online.
• We support the Know Your Business Customer (KYBC) provision to apply to online platforms that allow consumers to conclude distance contracts with 3rd party traders for the sale of goods or content.