Daisies and the DSA

The DSA delivers, the DSA delivers not

Sitting in a city park, looking at an impressive number of daisies, I am finally listening to the very interesting sessions of the conference marking two years of the DSA.

So far I have only heard the Commission's keynote. What struck me was not some supposed Commission crusade in favour of researchers, as parts of the press somewhat exaggeratedly suggested, but rather the fact that anything the Commission says is now scrutinised to excess. On that point, the Commission representative was plainly right.

What also came through was the degree of confrontation regulators are now facing. With the DMA, that was always foreseeable: if regulation is to matter, it will inevitably affect economic interests, and resistance will follow. That is simply unavoidable. What is more surprising is that, in the DSA context, this seems to have been slightly underestimated.

I also sensed frustration within the DSA community because there has not yet been much visible progress on the ground. In that respect, the parallel with the DMA is fairly clear.

What I found particularly interesting, however, was that with the DSA it seemed obvious from the outset that enforcement could not be left entirely to a single regulator, namely the Commission, and that a broader community around enforcement would be necessary. With the DMA, unfortunately, that logic never really took hold. Suggestions in this direction (🙋🏼‍♀️) were ignored (better the secrecy of regulatory dialogues modelled after commitment proceedings, was one of the main counter arguments - seriously). This remains one of its central weaknesses and, since the law does not require otherwise, the inclination to compensate for it, while  there (e.g., compliance workshops), looks rather underwhelming.

One could also hear some "frissons" at the idea that the DSA may already need revisiting in 2027 when it has scarcely begun to be enforced. But that, in turn, raises the question of where responsibility really lies. The EU legislator is right to expect the framework to remain fit for purpose and, where adjustments are needed, to make them quickly.

In any event, a very interesting keynote!

[Tune in next Tue/Wed for another edition of the great KAS conference - hear more on this from the Commission and other stakeholders - I'll be on the kick-off panel and try my best to be factual, understanding, and constructive 😉 - importantly, I'll talk about what I learned from the 6 amazing Guests starring in the first three episodes of the Vox Populi Podcast (limited series, 10 episodes), namely Hans-Christoph, Marc, John, Alex, Amandine, and Marcel, to whom I'm incredibly thankful!]