On 19 December 2022, the Commissioner for Internal Market of the EU published an update on the date when very large online platforms (VLOPs) and very large online search engines (VLOSEs) will be required to comply with the provisions of the Digital Services Act (DSA).

The Commissioner noted that VLOPs / VLOSEs will be required to comply with the new rules by no later than 1 September 2023. To meet the deadline the Commission would need to designate VLOPs and VLOSEs by 28 April 2023. Based on this update the current timeline of the DSA application is as on the graphic below.Continue Reading Digital Services Act: Timeline

The Online Safety and Media Regulation Bill 2022 was signed into law on Saturday, 10 December 2022.

Online safety is one of the headline items covered by the new legislation, and it will be overseen by the newly-established Media Commission (Coimisiún na Meán). The legislation also seeks to implement a number of other key legislative reforms including the transposition of the revised Audiovisual Media Services Directive and the alignment of the regulation of video on-demand services with traditional broadcasting (please see here for an overview of the OSMR Bill published earlier this year).

The Media Commission will have broad investigative…
Continue Reading Online Safety & Media Regulation Bill 2022 signed into law

The Digital Services Act (DSA) was published in the Official Journal of the European Union today. It will enter into force on 16 November 2022, i.e. 20 days from the date of publication in the Official Journal.

Who will be affected?

The DSA will apply to a range of providers of digital “intermediary services” (which will include mere conduit services, caching services and hosting services), where such services are offered to natural or legal person recipients that are established or located in the EU. Broadly, the obligations set out in the DSA are proportionate to the scale …
Continue Reading Digital Services Act published in EU’s Official Journal

 Update on the Electoral Reform Act 2022

The Electoral Reform Act 2022 (the Act), brings about significant changes to the electoral system in Ireland.

From the perspective of online platforms, Part 4 and Part 5 will be of key importance as they impose new obligations on platform providers to (i) ensure transparency in respect of online political advertising on their services; and (ii) to notify/take action in respect of dis/misinformation relating to online electoral processes on their services.

While the Act was signed into law on 25 July 2022, only certain sections of the Act have been commenced.  Part 4 and Part 5 of the Act have not yet been commenced.Continue Reading Update on the Electoral Reform Act 2022

The Digital Services Act (DSA), a major EU regulation for online content, was signed into law yesterday.

The DSA together with the Digital Markets Act (the DMA) form part of an EU legislative strategy that seeks to create a level playing field for both big and small businesses in the digital world, create a harmonized approach to doing business online and to create a safer environment for users online.

What ‘s new

More particularly, the DSA aims to achieve the following objectives:

  1. Establish a powerful transparency and accountability framework for internet intermediaries:

The DSA will hold intermediaries…

Continue Reading Digital Services Act Update

The Government has published the long anticipated Online Safety and Media Regulation Bill 2022 which it has hailed as a “watershed moment as we move from self-regulation to an era of accountability in online safety”.

Online safety is one of the headline items, and it will be overseen by the newly-established Media Commission (Coimisiún na Meán). The Bill also seeks to implement a number of other key legislative reforms including the transposition of the revised Audiovisual Media Services Directive and the alignment of the regulation of video on-demand services with traditional broadcasting.

The publication of this Bill follows input from and engagement with key stakeholders from the public, NGOs, companies and government organisations over the course of the last three years.

We have summarised some of the key aspects of the Bill below.Continue Reading Online Safety & Media Regulation Bill 2022

The new Enforcement and Modernisation Directive 2019/2161, more commonly known as the ‘Omnibus Directive’ (the Directive), aims to strengthen consumer rights through enhanced enforcement measures and increased transparency requirements.

Key dates

EU Member States must adopt national implementation measures by 28 November 2021. The new requirements set out in the Directive must then come into force by 28 May 2022.

Who the Directive applies to

Those engaged in online business-to-consumer (B2C) transactions as well as companies offering digital services to consumers where payment by the consumers is in the form of personal data rather than money, will fall under the remit of the Directive.Continue Reading New Deal for EU Consumers- the Omnibus Directive explained

The Government has published its legislation programme for Autumn 2021. We have set out below the status of key Bills of relevance to the data protection, commercial and technology sector.

Priority legislation for publication and drafting this Autumn

  • Online Safety and Media Regulation (OSMR) Bill – This Bill will provide for the establishment of a multi-person Media Commission (including an Online Safety Commissioner), the dissolution of the Broadcasting Authority of Ireland, a regulatory framework to tackle the spread of harmful online content, and implementation of the revised Audiovisual Media Services (AVMS) Directive 2018/1808. The Heads of Bill were published on 9 January 2020, with additional provisions approved on 8 December 2020 and 18 May 2021. The government also approved the integration of the Broadcasting (Amendment) Bill into the OSMR Bill. Member States were due to implement the revised AVMS Directive in national law by 19 September 2020, so Ireland has missed this deadline. Pre-legislative scrutiny is ongoing. Further background information information on the proposed Bill is available here.
  • Consumer Rights Bill – This Bill will give effect to two EU Directives (770/2019 and 771/2019) on consumer contracts for the supply of digital content and digital services, and on consumer contracts for the sale of goods. It will also update and consolidate the statutory provisions on consumer rights and remedies in relation to contracts for the supply of non-digital services, unfair contract terms, and information and cancellation rights. The General Scheme of the Bill has been published for public consultation. The Heads of Bill were approved on 20 April 2021.

Continue Reading Government publishes legislation programme for Autumn 2021