Verbatim report of proceedings

Monday, 4 July 2022 - Strasbourg

Digital Services Act - Digital Markets Act (debate)

  Mikuláš Peksa, rapporteur for the opinion of the Committee on Economic and Monetary Affairs. – Mr President, dear colleagues, as a Pirate I can only describe the Digital Services Act as a missed opportunity which fails to protect our fundamental rights online. Our privacy won’t be protected by the right for anonymity or encryption. Data retention, browser tracking and surveillance advertising will unfortunately remain the norm. Freedom of expression online won’t be ensured, as platforms will still be able to use arbitrary censorship tools, and politically influenced courts will still be able to take down legal content.

However, I will vote in favour of this regulation today because, for the first time ever, big—tech platforms will have to report back to a common European public authority. They will have to put in place an effective redress mechanism and conduct regular risk assessments and independent audits. We also managed to impose strong transparency obligations and the possibility for users to choose non-profiling-based options.

Many opportunities were missed. The worst problems have been avoided. I am very grateful to all my colleagues who worked together with me in the ECON Committee. However, the fight for digital civil rights continues.