EDPS releases its opinions on the EU’s Digital Services Act and Digital Markets Act

The European Data Protection Supervisor (EDPS) has published its opinions on the European Commission’s proposed Digital Services Act (DSA) and Digital Markets Act (DMA). Both opinions aim to assist EU legislators to shape a digital future rooted in EU values, including the protection of individuals’ fundamental rights, such as the right to data protection. On the DSA, the EDPS recommends additional measures to better protect individuals when it comes to content moderation, online targeted advertising, and recommender systems used by online platforms. Euractiv also reports that the EDPS wants further clarifications to the legislative text to ensure that moderation activities conducted by platforms in their efforts to remove illegal content and identity harmful content would not involve, ‘insofar as is possible’, the processing of any personal data. On the DMA, the EDPS highlights the importance of fostering competitive digital markets so that individuals have greater choice among online platforms and services. Giving users better control over their personal data can reinforce contestability in digital markets. Increased interoperability can help to address user lock-in and ultimately create opportunities for services to offer better data protection.