At the European Union level, Regulation (EU) 2022/2065 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 19 October 2022 on a Single Market For Digital Services and amending Directive 2000/31/EC (the DSA Regulation) was adopted in October 2022.

The DSA provisions apply to all intermediary services providers from 17 February 2024. As of the end of August 2023, these rules only applied to providers of intermediary services with more than 45 million users in the EU (10% of the Union’s population), designated very large online platforms (VLOPs) or very large online search engines (VLOSE).  Based on the provisions of the DSA Regulation and the national rule to be adopted, the relevant authorities (public institutions or authorities with duties regarding the supervision of a particular sector or field of activity) may act against a specific element or elements of illegal content. The principles and vision of the European legislation concern systemic infringements by providers of intermediary services, including those of very large online platforms or very large search engines (entities falling under the regulatory and supervisory scope of the European Commission).

The DSA Regulation is a piece of European legislation directly applicable to EU Member States targeting providers of intermediary services, including online platforms such as marketplaces, social networks, content-sharing platforms, app stores and online travel and accommodation platforms. Its main objective is to prevent illegal and harmful activities online.

The obligations laid down in this Regulation will contribute to the protection of users and of their fundamental rights. The DSA also creates transparency and accountability obligations for online platforms and a single legal framework with a strengthened supervisory structure across the EU. In addition, the recipients of the service may contact the intermediary service providers to report violations of the DSA provisions.

The DSA Regulation will be implemented through a pan-European oversight architecture. The European Commission is the competent authority for monitoring platforms and search engines designated as very large (with over 45 million active users across the EU) and will work closely with authorities in Member States designated as Digital Services Coordinators (DSCs) to this end. The coordinators will be responsible for monitoring the providers of intermediary services (including smaller online platforms and search engines) established in their respective states.

In Romania, the Digital Services Coordinator is ANCOM, designated by Law no. 50/2024 on establishing measures for the application of the Regulation of the European Parliament and of the Council of 19 October 2022 on a single market for digital services and amending Directive 2000/31/EC, as well as on amending and completing Law no. 365/2002 on electronic commerce, which was published in the Romanian Official Journal no.232 of 19 March 2024.

As Digital Services Coordinator, ANCOM is the authority responsible for all matters relating to the supervision and enforcement of the DSA Regulation. ANCOM also elaborates the secondary legislation with a view to adopting procedural aspects necessary for the national primary rule and is the single point of contact for reporting data and/or information to the European Commission and/or Digital Services Coordinators in other Member States on the application of the DSA.

As DSC, ANCOM is a member of the European Digital Services Board, an independent advisory body composed of Digital Services Coordinators from the EU Member States, which – among other – will support joint investigations, issue opinions and recommendations and promote the development and implementation of guidance on the topics covered by the Regulation.

This section provides detailed information about intermediary services, providers of intermediary services and their obligations, relevant authorities, trusted flaggers and other information necessary to understand the enforcement mechanism of the DSA.