Czechia, Cyprus, Poland, Portugal and Spain did not give their national watchdogs enough powers to enforce the Digital Services Act.
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The European Commission has taken Czechia, Cyprus, Poland, Portugal and Spain to the EU’s highest court for failing to correctly apply the Digital Services Act (DSA), it said on Wednesday.
The DSA – which aims to protect users against illegal content and products online – entered fully into force in February last year: by then member states had to appoint a national authority tasked with overseeing the rules in their respective countries.
Those watchdogs must cooperate with the Commission, which by itself oversees the largest batch of platforms that have more than 45 million users each month.
The countries were also required to give their regulators enough means to carry out their tasks as well as to draft rules on penalties for infringements of the DSA.
Poland failed to designate and empower its authority to carry out its tasks under the DSA, the Commission’s statement said.
Czechia, Cyprus, Spain and Portugal – which each designated a watchdog – did not give them the necessary powers to carry out their tasks under the regulation, the Commission found.
The EU executive began its infringement procedure by sending letters of formal notice to the five countries in early 2024. None of the countries took the necessary measures in the meantime.
In a separate case, the Commission said it stepped up its procedure against Bulgaria for also failing to empower a national regulator under the DSA and for failing to lay down the rules on penalties. If the country does not address the shortcomings in two months, the Commission could also take Bulgaria to court.
Since late 2023, when the DSA entered into force for the largest group of online platforms, the Commission began several investigations into potential breaches.
None of these probes, including into X, TikTok and Meta, have yet been wrapped up.