Portugal faces legal action from Brussels
The European Commission has initiated legal action against Portugal, along with four other nations—Czechia, Cyprus, Poland, and Spain—for failing to adhere to the Digital Services Act (DSA). The EU Executive body stated that these countries lack adequate application of the digital regulations.
Part of the May infringement proceedings, the Commission revealed a lawsuit submitted to the Court of Justice of the European Union (EU) against the aforementioned countries, primarily due to their inaction in implementing the Digital Services Act.
Specifically, Portugal, like the others, has been reprimanded for not designating or empowering a national digital services coordinator as per the DSA guidelines. Although a coordinator was named, the Commission remarks that they were not provided the necessary authoritative powers.
The EU Digital Services Act, announced in 2022, aims to create a secure and transparent online environment by enforcing stricter rules on large digital platforms functioning within the EU space, such as Instagram, Facebook, and TikTok. These platforms are now required to remove illegal and harmful content.
Under the new legislation, EU member states were obligated to appoint a digital services coordinator by 17th February, to ensure robust supervision and enforcement of the regulations. Although Portugal did this, the EU argues that the coordinator was not granted adequate powers.
The DSA also stipulates that member states should formulate guidelines for applicable sanctions for breaches of this regulation. Portugal has yet to do so. The absence of such framework could hinder uniform enforcement throughout the EU.
[1] European Commission. (2022). Digital Services Act: Commission proposes rules for fair and safe online platform services. Retrieved from https://ec.europa.eu/commission/presscorner/detail/en/IP_22_3616[3] European Commission. (2022). Digital Services Act: Commission requests EU countries to take swift action on key deliverables. Retrieved from https://ec.europa.eu/commission/presscorner/detail/en/IP_22_3903[5] European Parliament. (2022). Regulation (EU) 2022/2065 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 14 November 2022 on measures for a high common level of network and information system security across the Union (NIS2). Retrieved from https://data.europa.eu/doceo/document/ST-12693-2022-INIT/12693abd904e5807
- Portugal, along with other nations, is facing criticism for not properly implementing the Digital Services Act (DSA) policies, specifically for failing to adequately empower their national digital services coordinator and not formulating guidelines for applicable sanctions for breaches of this regulation.
- The European Commission has taken legal action against Portugal, among others, due to their perceived non-compliance with the DSA, including the missing framework for sanctions and the lack of authoritative powers for the national digital services coordinator, which could lead to inconsistent enforcement of digital regulations throughout the EU.
