It is legislation that aimed to ensure user safety, combat illegal activities and “create a fair environment for online platforms”. But which is also slow to produce its first effects, despite a certain cooperation on the part of the platforms.
Coming into force in August 2023 for platforms designated by Brussels, then extended to all online intermediaries on February 17, 2024, the legislation on digital markets, or Digital Services Act (DSA), has celebrated its first anniversary. But what assessment can we draw up at this stage? Has the DSA produced its first results or, conversely, does the Internet remain “a Wild West”, as worried Thierry Breton, European Commissioner for the Internal Market who defended this text until his resignation in September 2024?
While he recognizes that the DSA “is not yet fully implemented”, Alan Walter, lawyer specializing in technology law, believes that “most of the players have tried to fall into line”. In an interview given to BDM, he analyzes this first year of application of the DSA, which he compares to an “observation round”.