The Study elaborates on the readiness of Western Balkan countries for the harmonization of their national regulations with the EU’s Digital Services Act.
This Act represents the most ambitious regulation, both at the European Union and the global level that aims to protect the fundamental rights of users of digital services.
It does so by prescribing the mechanisms for protecting digital space from illegal content and by setting up the rules for the transparency and accountability of digital platforms. Together with the Digital Markets Act (DMA) it is a part of the EU Digital Services Package, aimed at providing protection for digital service users while fostering innovation.
However, the DSA and DMA bring a number of challenges, mostly related to their potential impacts on freedom of expression. The predominant focus of the Study is the Western Balkan’s preparedness for harmonization with DSA; the provisions of DMA (Digital Markets Act) to the extent that this legislation converges with the DSA. The Study was developed within the project “Future of the Western Balkans in Digital Europe” supported by the Open Society Foundations-Western Balkans.
