As part of regional efforts to ensure effective legislative alignment in the Western Balkans with the recently adopted Digital Services Act (DSA), organizations from the region have adopted a unified position on alignment with this particularly important piece of legislation. This joint position focuses on enabling approaches and priority interventions that respect the rule of law, protect media freedom, and ensure the protection of human rights for all citizens in the region. By focusing on these critical areas, our goal is to promote the effective implementation of the DSA, while ensuring that digital services reforms do not jeopardize fundamental freedoms in the region.
Our approach and interventions are based on many years of experience in the field of media and platform regulation and governance, as well as the latest research and recommendations that emerged from the joint research we conducted specifically on this topic. We invite you to review the research on a similar topic by our colleagues at the Share Foundation.
Priority regional interventions
- “Red lines” in the approach to DSA
To ensure the successful implementation of the DSA in the Western Balkans, it is crucial to avoid misinterpretations and applications that could undermine its core objectives:
- Content management, not content control : DSA should focus on regulating content management processes rather than directly controlling content, such as hate speech, or certain actors such as online media outlets. This approach respects freedom of expression and avoids censorship.
- No national regulation of very large online platforms (VLOPs) and very large online search engines (VLOSEs) : The regulation of these actors remains a responsibility of the European Commission, in particular with regard to the obligation of due diligence. National interventions in this area could lead to fragmented and inconsistent regulatory contexts, undermining the unified application of the DSA.
- The legislative intent of the DSA is clear: the DSA does not aim to reduce hate speech online or regulate online media outlets, but rather focuses on ensuring safe, transparent, and accountable content management processes.
- Enabling the DSA model
Extensive and complex implementation of DSA in the region depends on the following enabling measures:
- Platform Legal Representatives : Platforms operating in the region should appoint legal representatives or designate contact persons in each country to enable effective communication and alignment with local needs.
- Safeguards against illegal content : The DSA provides for the introduction of procedural safeguards, such as clear reporting and remediation requirements and comprehensive legal mechanisms to effectively deal with illegal content, while respecting the rights of users.
- Trusted Flaggers : Establishing independent trusted flagger programs will contribute to improving the content moderation process and increase the accountability of platforms, while preserving independence from undue influence.
- Access to research data : Facilitating access to data for researchers is key to transparency and accountability in the operation of platforms, ensuring that research of public interest contributes to future regulatory adjustments.
- Independent DSA and Multi-stakeholder approach : Promoting independent implementation of the DSA with multi-stakeholder involvement, including civil society, helps ensure that the DSA is aligned with local contexts and needs, while respecting fundamental rights.
- Independent Digital Services Coordinator : Ensuring the institutional, political, and financial independence of the Digital Services Coordinator is essential for the impartial implementation of the DSA, safeguarding transparency, accountability, and protection of fundamental rights, while preventing conflicts of interest with government and corporate entities.
- Cooperation between Digital Service Coordinators (DSCs): Effective cooperation between national Digital Service Coordinators, the European Board for Digital Services, the European Commission, and the Digital Service Coordinators of the Member States is essential for the effective cross-border application of the DSA.
- Involvement of civil society organizations
In line with the DSA governance framework, civil society plays a key role in the DSA alignment process and their involvement should be actively encouraged through:
- Establishing and facilitating the work of Digital Service Coordinators : In the research, we proposed three models that we will consider in the future and in close consultation with the European Commission.
- Building a regional network of experts and collaborators : Creating a network of experts and collaborators will provide a support system for the implementation of the DSA, facilitate knowledge exchange, and ensure coherent advocacy efforts.
- Raising awareness among civil society organizations : It is crucial to educate stakeholders in the countries of the region about the principles of the DSA and its impact on the legal framework of media outlets, especially given that the assumption that the DSA is merely a tool for regulating hate speech or disinformation online is incorrect.
In this context, we call on all stakeholders in the Western Balkan countries, international organizations, donors, and especially the European Commission to strengthen the transformative framework of the DSA to improve digital governance across the region.
By respecting the “red lines” and embracing enabling measures, the region can use the DSA to foster a safer and more responsible digital environment.
Active involvement of all stakeholders, including civil society, and building strong regional coordinated and unified interventions will further ensure the implementation of the DSA in a manner that respects local contexts, but also ensures a consistent and legally unified approach to the DSA in line with the values of the European Union.
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