The European Commission has announced that it will denounce Spain, Portugal, Poland, Cyprus and the Czech Republic before the Court of Justice of the European Union for not adequately enforcing the new European Digital Services Act (DSA), which imposes strict rules on major internet platforms with over 45 million monthly users.

Brussels recognises that Spain, Portugal, Cyprus and the Czech Republic have complied with the designation of their digital services coordinator but notes that they have not granted their coordinators the necessary powers to carry out the new tasks required by the European regulation. The four nations should have had to fulfil this requirement for over a year (since February 2024).

In the case of Poland, the country did not designate or empower its authority to carry out its tasks under the DSA. Moreover, another EU nation, Bulgaria, will also go to court for “failing to correctly transpose (the DSA) into its national legislation,” the Commission explains.

The Community Executive considers these digital services coordinators “essential” to supervise and enforce the DSA and to guarantee that it is applied in a “uniform” manner across the whole of the EU. It also recalls that governments must, furthermore, establish clear rules regarding the sanctions applicable for infringements of European law.

The new framework with which the bloc seeks to avoid abusive practices by the largest companies on the internet required that, at the latest, by 17 February 2024, national authorities had designated and empowered a digital services coordinator responsible for supervising compliance with the new rules by service providers in their territory.

Spain in trouble after multiple warnings

The case against Spain, the largest EU nation that will go to court, dates back to July of last year when the European Commission initiated an infringement procedure for not properly transposing the DSA within the established deadline. This first warning was followed in December by the sending of a reasoned opinion, the second phase in the sanctioning procedure, which insisted on non-compliance and gave the Spanish authorities a new deadline of two months to catch up.

“Given that the necessary measures have not been adopted, the Commission has decided to take the case before the Court of Justice of the European Union,” the European Commission explains.

The DSA was first introduced in December 2020. It encompasses various online services, including social media platforms, online marketplaces, and more. The primary objectives of the DSA are to protect consumers and their fundamental rights online, to establish a robust framework for transparency and accountability for online platforms and to foster innovation, growth, and competitiveness within the single market.