The Commission started an infringement procedure back in April.
ADVERTISEMENTPoland and Slovakia have yet to formally appoint regulators in charge of overseeing online platforms' compliance with the Digital Services Act (DSA), despite being legally obliged to do so by 17 February, according to European Commission data.
In April the Commission started infringement procedures against both countries because they had not yet appointed the regulators. Estonia was also originally the subject of a complaint, but has subsequently notified the Commission on designating its Digital Services Coordinator (DSC).
The national regulators are online platforms' main point of contact in helping the Commission with collecting evidence on the implementation of the DSA. They meet under the EU oversight board in a bid to streamline national approaches and give users across the EU the same rights.
In April the EU executive also reprimanded Cyprus, Czechia and Portugal for failing to empower their DSCs with the necessary powers and competences to carry out their tasks. Euronews understands that these three countries still have to empower the DSCs.
The countries had two months to respond and address the shortcomings raised by the Commission, sending reasoned opinions is a possible next step in the infringement process.
“The Commission is in continuous dialogue with all member states to monitor progress and provide technical support to the member states for implementing the Digital Services Act,” a spokesperson for the Commission told Euronews.
In the case of Belgium, the formal appointment of telecom regulator BIPT as the country's DSC, will have to wait until after the parliamentary summer recess, a spokesperson for BIPT said.
Euronews reported in February that while the DSA came into force last August, just a handful of countries had appointed a national regulator by that stage.
Under the DSA, online platforms with more than 45 million monthly average users in the EU – such as Facebook, TikTok, Booking.com and Amazon – must abide by strict rules, such as transparency requirements and the protection of minors online.
The DSA started to apply to all platforms, also those with fewer users, in February.
