go to the original language article
Brussels/Prague – The European Commission (EC) has decided to sue the Czech Republic, Spain, Cyprus, Poland, and Portugal for inadequate implementation of the Digital Services Act (DSA). The Commission informed about this in a press release today. The matter will now be addressed by the Court of Justice of the European Union.
The Ministry of Industry confirmed the information to ČTK. “The Commission has not yet filed the lawsuit itself; we will learn its details later. For now, we are not facing any fines in the proceedings; the court will decide whether the Czech Republic has failed to meet its obligations and may set an additional deadline for us to rectify everything,” said the ministry spokesperson Marek Vošáhlík to ČTK.
The EU executive criticizes the five member states for not appointing or empowering a national digital services coordinator and for not establishing rules for sanctions for violations of the regulations under the Digital Services Act.
According to Vošáhlík, the discussion of the law in the Chamber has been repeatedly delayed. “We expect the Chamber to approve the law during June, and thus the Commission will have no reason to continue the proceedings. Approval is important not only in terms of this decision but especially for the benefits of the law itself. It will provide people with greater safety on the internet and better protect them from fake and dangerous products on online marketplaces,” he added.
The regulation requires member states to designate one or more competent authorities to oversee the DSA and its enforcement. One of these authorities was also supposed to become the so-called national coordinator (Digital Services Coordinator, DSC) by February 17, 2024. Poland did not appoint or empower a national coordinator to fulfill the tasks under the DSA regulation. Although the Czech Republic, Cyprus, Spain, and Portugal appointed coordinators, they did not grant them the necessary powers to fulfill the tasks under the EU regulation, the Commission states. In the Czech Republic, the Czech Telecommunications Office was tasked with oversight.
The regulation also requires member states to establish rules for sanctions for violations of the regulation, which all the aforementioned member states have not done, according to the statement. (May 7)