Regulating Digital Platforms: Will the DSA Correct Its Predecessor’s Deficiencies?
The E-Commerce Directive 2000/31 (ECD) has been the law applicable to Internet intermediaries related to their liability for third-party content on their platform, electronic contracts, and e-commerce activities for more than twenty years. Its core is the harmonised immunity regime established in Ar...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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University of Zagreb, Faculty of Law
2022-12-01
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| Series: | Croatian Yearbook of European Law and Policy |
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| Online Access: | https://www.cyelp.com/index.php/cyelp/article/view/485 |
| _version_ | 1797957222359105536 |
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| author | Berrak Genç-Gelgeç |
| author_facet | Berrak Genç-Gelgeç |
| author_sort | Berrak Genç-Gelgeç |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | The E-Commerce Directive 2000/31 (ECD) has been the law applicable to Internet intermediaries related to their liability for third-party content on their platform, electronic contracts, and e-commerce activities for more than twenty years. Its core is the harmonised immunity regime established in Articles 12–15. These rules grant immunity to the providers of mere conduit, caching, and hosting from liability arising from infringing content made available by their users on their platform. However, the ECD has been criticised for not fully achieving its objective of uniformity, not keeping up with the pace of the Internet, and not effectively protecting the parties’ fundamental rights as it gives crucial discretion to the intermediaries. The ECD is to be replaced with the Digital Services Act (DSA). The aim is to regulate new means of digital services (especially Big Tech) while benefiting from their ‘technical and operational ability to act against specific items of illegal content’ in preventing the availability of illegal content and protecting fundamental rights. Its framework is based on the prevailing idea of acknowledging digital platforms as responsible actors. It establishes new sets of tiered due-diligence obligations for digital platforms to comply with while reproducing the immunity regime of the ECD. Its framework appears to target those issues arising from the ECD. However, whether it can deliver this promise calls for discussion. This paper aims to address this question. To do so, it will first try to identify the deficits of the ECD. Second, and more importantly, it will seek to scrutinise the DSA to evaluate if it provides the answers to the issues that the ECD fell short of. |
| first_indexed | 2024-04-11T00:02:03Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-4960081ff9964997a9bbe665ed067058 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 1845-5662 1848-9958 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-04-11T00:02:03Z |
| publishDate | 2022-12-01 |
| publisher | University of Zagreb, Faculty of Law |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Croatian Yearbook of European Law and Policy |
| spelling | doaj.art-4960081ff9964997a9bbe665ed0670582023-01-09T21:28:40ZengUniversity of Zagreb, Faculty of LawCroatian Yearbook of European Law and Policy1845-56621848-99582022-12-0118256010.3935/cyelp.18.2022.485Regulating Digital Platforms: Will the DSA Correct Its Predecessor’s Deficiencies?Berrak Genç-Gelgeç0https://orcid.org/0000-0001-5166-8965Istanbul Medeniyet University Law SchoolThe E-Commerce Directive 2000/31 (ECD) has been the law applicable to Internet intermediaries related to their liability for third-party content on their platform, electronic contracts, and e-commerce activities for more than twenty years. Its core is the harmonised immunity regime established in Articles 12–15. These rules grant immunity to the providers of mere conduit, caching, and hosting from liability arising from infringing content made available by their users on their platform. However, the ECD has been criticised for not fully achieving its objective of uniformity, not keeping up with the pace of the Internet, and not effectively protecting the parties’ fundamental rights as it gives crucial discretion to the intermediaries. The ECD is to be replaced with the Digital Services Act (DSA). The aim is to regulate new means of digital services (especially Big Tech) while benefiting from their ‘technical and operational ability to act against specific items of illegal content’ in preventing the availability of illegal content and protecting fundamental rights. Its framework is based on the prevailing idea of acknowledging digital platforms as responsible actors. It establishes new sets of tiered due-diligence obligations for digital platforms to comply with while reproducing the immunity regime of the ECD. Its framework appears to target those issues arising from the ECD. However, whether it can deliver this promise calls for discussion. This paper aims to address this question. To do so, it will first try to identify the deficits of the ECD. Second, and more importantly, it will seek to scrutinise the DSA to evaluate if it provides the answers to the issues that the ECD fell short of.https://www.cyelp.com/index.php/cyelp/article/view/485digital platformsliabilityimmunity regimee-commerce directivedigital services act |
| spellingShingle | Berrak Genç-Gelgeç Regulating Digital Platforms: Will the DSA Correct Its Predecessor’s Deficiencies? Croatian Yearbook of European Law and Policy digital platforms liability immunity regime e-commerce directive digital services act |
| title | Regulating Digital Platforms: Will the DSA Correct Its Predecessor’s Deficiencies? |
| title_full | Regulating Digital Platforms: Will the DSA Correct Its Predecessor’s Deficiencies? |
| title_fullStr | Regulating Digital Platforms: Will the DSA Correct Its Predecessor’s Deficiencies? |
| title_full_unstemmed | Regulating Digital Platforms: Will the DSA Correct Its Predecessor’s Deficiencies? |
| title_short | Regulating Digital Platforms: Will the DSA Correct Its Predecessor’s Deficiencies? |
| title_sort | regulating digital platforms will the dsa correct its predecessor s deficiencies |
| topic | digital platforms liability immunity regime e-commerce directive digital services act |
| url | https://www.cyelp.com/index.php/cyelp/article/view/485 |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT berrakgencgelgec regulatingdigitalplatformswillthedsacorrectitspredecessorsdeficiencies |