On Wednesday, the Committee on Civil Liberties will discuss upcoming EU digital legislation from the perspective of fundamental rights and democracy with NGOs and academics.
The hearing will comprise three thematic panels, in which experts will offer their views on topical issues related to upcoming legislation, for example the Digital Markets Act, Digital Services Act and Data Governance Act.
First, the panel on personal data protection will hear from Dr. Gabriela Zanfir-Fortuna (Future of Privacy Forum) and Mr. Thomas Boué (Business Software Alliance).
The second panel will deal with freedom of expression, disinformation and non-discrimination, with a focus on online content removal, featuring contributions from Dr. Mathias Vermeulen (AWO) and Dr. Lubos Kuklis (European Platform of Regulatory Authorities).
Finally, the third panel will discuss rule of law and democracy and fundamental rights issues with Mr. Jan Penfrat (EDRi) and Ms. Asha Allen (European Women’s Lobby).
When: Wednesday, 26 May 2021, 9:00 – 11:40
Where: European Parliament, József Antall building, room 4Q2
Watch the web stream here:
https://www.europarl.europa.eu/committees/en/libe/meetings/webstreaming
You can find the full programme here and other documents here.
Background
Current EU rules for digital services have remained largely unchanged since the adoption of the e-Commerce Directive in 2000. On 15 December 2020, the European Commission unveiled its Digital Services Act that introduces a series of new, harmonised EU-wide obligations for digital services. In parallel, the Commission unveiled a proposal for a Digital Markets Act that comprises rules for platforms that act as ‘gatekeepers’ in the digital sector. The Data Governance Act is the first of a set of measures announced in the 2020 European Strategy for Data: the draft published by the Commission on 25 November 2020 aims to facilitate data sharing across the EU and between sectors, while strengthening mechanisms that increase data availability and foster trust in intermediaries.
Parliament adopted three resolutions in October 2020 to address and tackle current shortcomings in the online environment. The legislative resolution by Alex Agius Saliba (S&D, MT) asks for a comprehensive revision of the E-Commerce Directive and the imposition of ex ante obligations on large digital platforms with a gatekeeper role. The legislative resolution by Tiemo Wölken (S&D, DE) asks the Commission to introduce inter alia rules on content management, content curation and online advertisements. The non-legislative resolution by Kris Peeters (EPP, BE) calls the Commission to update the current EU legal framework governing digital services to address the challenges posed by new technologies and ensure legal clarity and respect for fundamental rights.
The Internal Market and Consumer Protection (IMCO) Committee, has appointed MEP Christel Schaldemose (S&D, DK) as rapporteur for the DSA and Andreas Schwab (EPP, DE) for the DMA. The DGA was assigned to the Industry, Research and Energy Committee (ITRE), and MEP Angelika Niebler (EPP, DE).
Further information