The bill implementing the EU Digital Services Act (DSA) into Polish law is in the works within the government and is set to come into effect at the beginning of 2025, announced the Polish Ministry of Digitization. Although UE regulations adopted in the forum apply directly in Poland since February this year, they also require adjustment to domestic regulations. This involves the establishment of a Digital Services Coordinator – a regulator tasked with enforcing obligations imposed on internet platforms.
During a parliamentary subcommittee meeting for innovation and economic competitiveness at the end of November, the deputy minister of digitization, Dariusz Standerski, pointed out that implementing the DSA is currently one of the department’s priorities.
“The bill is currently being deliberated by the Committee on European Affairs. The next step will be making decisions about this project by the Standing Committee of the Council of Ministers, then the legal commission, review by the Council of Ministers and then the bill will be sent to the Polish Parliament (Sejm),” said Mateusz Sztobryn, Deputy Director of the Department of International Cooperation in the Ministry of Digitization. He added, “We plan that the Act that establishes the Polish Digital Services Coordinator and allows the use of the DSA in Poland will come into effect at the beginning of 2025.”
Significantly, the DSA came into force directly in all EU member states on February 17, 2024. Some countries, including Poland, have still not implemented the measures to fully apply it. Work on amending the Act on the provision of electronic services has been ongoing since the beginning of the year when the Ministry of Digitization announced consultations on these regulations.
The implementation project of the DSA envisages establishing a Polish coordinator for digital services who will enforce obligations on internet platforms, hosting service providers and other entities, making the implementation crucial for citizens.
The DSA is one of the most critical internet industry regulations of recent years, colloquially called the internet constitution. It holds digital companies throughout the EU responsible for content on their platforms and introduces new obligations concerning administration. The new regulations aim to improve user safety online, support combating illegal content online and regulate issues related to content moderation precisely.
“The DSA imposes obligations on e-commerce platforms in terms of the identifiability of entrepreneurs who offer their services or goods on e-commerce platforms. In regards to such platforms, customers will be able to turn to the President of the Office of Competition and Consumer Protection in the event of irregularities that may occur on these platforms,” explained the digitization expert.
The lack of national regulations does not affect the necessity for service providers to fulfil obligations resulting from this regulation – social networking sites, e-commerce platforms and hosting providers are obliged to comply with the provisions of the DSA, regardless of whether the national legislator has adjusted internal law to it or not.
“Under the DSA, every platform offering its services in the European Union is obliged to establish a contact point and a legal representative if it does not have its headquarters in any EU member state. This is important because the European Commission or the Digital Services Coordinator from a given member state will be able to enforce all these obligations arising from European law. Coordinators will have the same powers in relation to such platforms as they do to those enterprises and entities that have their headquarters in the European Union,” said Mateusz Sztobryn.
The way DSA strengthens consumer rights and changes the responsibility of digital platforms was discussed by experts at the conference “Consumer in the world of new digital possibilities,” organized by the Confederation of Leviathan at the beginning of December.
