Digital services
On February 17, 2024, a new EU law regulating the digital services sector – the Digital Services Act – will become universally applicable. Although the direct implications will mainly affect providers of intermediary services, clearly this act will be the new Constitution of the Internet.
Under the Digital Services Act, providers of online services and content will be subject to a range of new legal and operational requirements and challenges. Failure to comply with the new requirements might lead to substantial fines (as high as 6% of annual worldwide turnover), but above all it could delay measures to keep up with market needs, and result in loss of the current market position. It would be advisable to act now to adapt e-business to the impending changes, to prevent being overtaken by the competition and to safeguard against significant fines.
We have the capacity to ensure compliance with the Digital Services Act in all aspects of any organization conducting business on the Internet. We advise large online platforms and online marketplaces, as well as online portals.
- we conduct audits of services provided on the Internet to determine whether measures are required to comply with the Digital Services Act;
- working with programmers, we conduct dark pattern audits, to review the online interfaces in use and eliminate those that are so-called deceptive interfaces;
- we prepare a complete list of the technological modifications and new functionalities required on platforms;
- we assist in implementing a mechanism for reporting illegal content and content that is incompatible with service’s terms and conditions;
- we draft templates for notifications, decisions, and statements of reasons regarding moderation of content, which they have to be provided to users;
- we draft and revise policies (such as the content moderation policy), procedures (such as the internal notice and action procedure), and the regulations for the provision of electronic services for the purpose of implementation of the Digital Services Act;
- we advise on interpretational issues regarding the Digital Services Act, so that the processes in place in an organization are aligned in an effective manner to the new legal climate relating to digital services, but without excessive interference in the processes already used in the organization; this concerns issues such as online advertising or for example liability of intermediary service providers for content provided by the recipients of the service (users);
- we devise training on the areas regulated in the Digital Services Act for persons responsible for applying the new regulation in organizations, such as in-house lawyers, persons who process notifications from users, or content moderators;
- we conduct an audit after implementation of the Digital Service Act, and provide a report containing the audit findings;
- we represent clients in proceedings before the Digital Services Coordinator and other authorities and courts with jurisdiction over matters within the scope regulated by the Digital Services Act.
Our experience makes us aware of how difficult it is to conduct business in an ever-changing regulatory climate with a high level of legal uncertainty. We also know that severe fines for non-compliance are only the first consequences, added to which there is the inestimable cost of the damage to company image and to consumer confidence in the brand.
In view of these risks, we have drawn up a proposal for providers of online services concerning the Digital Services Act, as an aid for entrepreneurs to prepare for the new legislation and ensure that financial and public relations safeguards are in place to protect against any adverse consequences.
The advice provided by experts at TKP covers every aspect of compliance with the Digital Services Act within an organization – from an audit and determining the changes to be made, developing new technological solutions in cooperation with programmers and drafting documentation and devising processes, to training and a post-implementation audit.
Experts at TKP make sure that online entrepreneurs do not waste time analyzing the law, and that they can concentrate on the crucial matters in their business sector, i.e. developing online services.
TKP experts have been advising the online business sector for many years, and for them, there is nothing mysterious about the digital world. Their know-how and knowledge of the specific nature of operating online ensure professional implementation of the Digital Services Act, not only in terms of compliance with EU law, but also with particular entity’s principal objectives and business challenges.
We do not only provide legal advice; we work with IT specialists to gain a better understanding of the specific nature of the services provided and design solutions to suit the technical capabilities of the site or platform in question; we can also design the new functionalities required under the Digital Services Act.
You can put your faith in us!