MEPs exchange on the details and impact of the Digital Service Act and Digital Market Act with Margrethe VESTAGER, Executive Vice-President of the European Commission in charge of Europe fit for the Digital Age, and Commissioner for Competition, in the EP Committee on Internal Market and Consumer Protection in Brussels. The Digital Services Act and Digital Markets Act encompass a single set of new rules applicable across the whole EU to create a safer and more open digital space, with European values at its centre. Questions by Andreas SCHWAB (EPP, DE), Christel SCHALDEMOSE (S&D, DK) and Morten LØKKEGAARD (Renew, DK).

digital single market (T)

Committee on the Internal Market and Consumer Protection

exchange of views

meeting

LØKKEGAARD, Morten (Renew, DK)

SCHWAB, Andreas (EPP, DE)

VESTAGER, Margrethe (DK, CE)

SCHALDEMOSE, Christel (S&D, DK)

digital services act (T)

Digital Services Act and Digital Markets Act - IMCO: extracts from the exchange of views with Margrethe VESTAGER, Executive Vice-President of the European Commission in charge of Europe fit for the Digital Age, and Commissioner for Competition

Title: Digital Services Act and Digital Markets Act - IMCO: extracts from the exchange of views with Margrethe VESTAGER

SOUNDBITE (English), Margrethe VESTAGER, Executive Vice-President of the EC in charge of Europe fit for the Digital Age, (2. answer to Q from Mr SCHWAB): You may not be happy that we don't go the entire way for all data created being available to everyone created with the search engine, but quite a lot of that actually should be given access by the one who collects the data.

SOUNDBITE (English), Margrethe VESTAGER, Executive Vice-President of the EC in charge of Europe fit for the Digital Age, The creation of an integrated system in Europe, of cooperation between the authorities, of the countries of establishment and those countries where the platforms provide their services, and this will improve the enforcement of the Data Services Act itself, but also of existing National and union laws, I think often seen or experienced that are not being sufficiently enforced today.

SOUNDBITE (English), Margrethe VESTAGER, Executive Vice-President of the EC in charge of Europe fit for the Digital Age, The Digital markets Act targets large platforms that act as gateways to customers. The Digital services Act addresses primarily societal risks posed by systemic platforms.

SOUNDBITE (English), Margrethe VESTAGER, Executive Vice-President of the EC in charge of Europe fit for the Digital Age, Obligations and provisions, they will cover many issues, like the combination of personal data, the use of data, data portability, fair access condition to call for services or preferences, as well as obligations to report on acquisitions and to audit use of profiling practises.

SOUNDBITE (English), Margrethe VESTAGER, Executive Vice-President of the EC in charge of Europe fit for the Digital Age, We foresee a system of proportionate, progressive but dissuasive penalties ranging from substantial fines, six percent of annual turnover in Digital Services Act, 10 percent in the Digital Markets Act, to temporary suspension of platform services.

SOUNDBITE (English), Andreas SCHWAB (EPP, DE), Why don't we have standards in the digital gatekeeper world as well, so that if you have a question that you put it into a search engine, that also any other search machine can have all the data that users in the European Union have created, it's their intellectual property. When I have been looking for a product in a search engine, the data that they enter are mine, they are not owned by the company that have been entering it.

SOUNDBITE (English), Andreas SCHWAB (EPP, DE), (comparing with the example of pharmaceutical intellectual property to digital interllectual property) : How can it be that intellectual property is treated in two manners? Is there not a need also to go into algorithms not only for the transparency, but also to keep markets open?

SOUNDBITE (English), Margrethe VESTAGER, Executive Vice-President of the EC in charge of Europe fit for the Digital Age, (answer to first Q from Mr SCHWAB):The reasons why we have not chosen the algorithm should become public after some time is, of course, that algorithms seem to be that stable. They are still object for innovation.

SOUNDBITE (Danish), Christel SCHALDEMOSE (S&amp;D, DK), It's the case that if you can't find the producer, then the importer has the responsibility and if not, then the distributor. So I think this is missing in the proposal. I think we could address this question and look at the online marketplaces. Perhaps they should have some kind of importer responsibility or liability. And in any case, in Article 22, we say, how do we track the trader? Well, I think the question really includes focuses on the responsibility of the importer. Can we strengthen the responsibility of the platform for the illegal product if they have not ensured the identity of the trader who sold?

SOUNDBITE (English), Margrethe VESTAGER, Executive Vice-President of the EC in charge of Europe fit for the Digital Age, We put so much emphasis on the on the principle of knowing your customer that rough traders cannot appear, that you cannot reappear under a different heading if you have been caught in selling things that do not live up to the European standards.

SOUNDBITE (null), Morten L&#216;KKEGAARD (Renew, DK), You don't make it clear to the platforms what responsibilities they have, and we have some cases where they don't live up to it, and for example, toys for children, you still see them on these platforms, even though you make the consumers more aware of the situation with these toys. So what does the Commission think?

SOUNDBITE (English), Margrethe VESTAGER, Executive Vice-President of the EC in charge of Europe fit for the Digital Age, They have the responsibility, they know the responsibility. They know what they have to do and they don't do it. This is why we come in with heavy sanctions in case of systematic non-compliance, up to six percent of our annual turnover.