European Parliament approves DSA and DMA

The European Parliament approved two new pieces of legislation – the Digital Services Act (DSA) and the Digital Markets Act (DMA). The DSA is concerned with online harmful and illegal goods, services, and content, while the DMA addresses competition and antitrust issues.

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The European Parliament has approved two new pieces of legislation – the Digital Services Act (DSA) and the Digital Markets Act (DMA). The DSA and the DMA both focus on big digital service providers, but regulate different aspects of their activities. The DSA is concerned with online harmful and illegal goods, services, and content, while the DMA addresses competition and antitrust issues.

What’s next?

Both acts need to be adopted by the Council: the DMA in July and the DSA in September. They will then be published in the EU Official Journal and enter into force 20 days after publication.

The DSA will be applicable across the EU 15 months after its entry into force or from 1 January 2024 (whichever comes later). For companies, the DSA will go into effect four months after they have been designated as very large online platforms and very large online search engines by the Commission.

The DMA will be applied for six months after it enters into force. If a company has been designated as a gatekeeper by the Commission, it will have a maximum of six months to comply with the new obligations.