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New technologies come with new risks, and the impact of cyber-attacks through digital products has increased dramatically in recent years. Increasingly, consumers have fallen victim to security flaws linked to digital products such as baby monitors, robo-vacuum cleaners, Wi-Fi routers and alarm systems. For businesses, the importance of ensuring that digital products in the supply chain are secure has become pivotal, considering three in five vendors have already lost money owing to product security ...

The Monthly Highlights publication provides an overview, at a glance, of the on-going work of the policy departments, including a selection of the latest and forthcoming publications, and a list of future events.

The Digital Markets Act (DMA) entered into force on 1 November 2022. The DMA rules apply to large companies – designated as gatekeepers – that provide core platform services such as marketplaces, app stores, online search engines or cloud computing services in the EU. Most of the act's provisions will apply as of 2 May 2023, when the gatekeeper designation procedure will start. That designation follows notification by the respective platforms to the Commission. Operators designated as gatekeepers ...

The Digital Services Act (DSA) entered into force on 16 November 2022. The DSA rules apply to categories of online intermediary services according to their role, size and impact on the online ecosystem. Online intermediary services such as online marketplaces, app stores, collaborative economy platforms, search engines and social media platforms will have to comply with a range of obligations to ensure transparency, accountability and responsibility for their actions. Operators designated as very ...

EU lawmakers have agreed on the digital services act (DSA), which aims to ensure fairness, trust and safety in the digital environment. The regulation entered into force in November 2022. The DSA puts in place a framework of layered responsibilities targeted at different types of online intermediary services, including network infrastructure services (e.g. cloud and webhosting), online platform services (e.g. app stores and social media platforms), and services provided by very large online platforms ...

The proposed 'Path to the digital decade' policy programme sets out a governance and funding framework to help achieve the 2030 digital decade targets. This includes a digital compass to measure progress, and multi-country projects and cooperation mechanisms between the Commission and Member States. Parliament is scheduled to vote on the decision establishing the policy programme during its November II plenary session.

The highlight of the November I 2022 plenary session was the debate on the conclusions of the European Council meeting of 20 21 October 2022, during which European Union leaders discussed the latest developments in Russia's military campaign against Ukraine, Europe's energy crisis, and external relations – with China in particular. Members also debated Commission statements on the outcome of the modernisation of the Energy Charter, the EU response to the increasing crack-down on protests in Iran, ...

With important challenges ahead for EU Member States, the work of tax administrations is key to protecting national budgets (and in turn the EU budget) and enforcing tax legislation. While the power to charge and collect tax lies with the Member States, with the EU having only limited competence, over the years there has been greater cooperation between national tax administrations at EU level.

Adopted in 1985, the Product Liability Directive (PLD) introduced a strict, harmonised product liability framework and legal certainty for producers and consumers facing damage caused by defective products. The PLD has co-existed for almost 40 years with national liability rules, offering a fault-based product liability system. The PLD also complements other legal instruments within the EU liability framework that address, for example, contractual liability and product safety. Significant societal ...

The 2014 Regulation on electronic identification and trust services for electronic transactions in the internal market (eIDAS Regulation or eIDAS) was the first digital identity legislation to provide the basis for cross-border electronic identification, authentication and website certification throughout the EU. Application of eIDAS has been mixed. However, the pandemic increased the need for such solutions to be put in place to access public and private services. On 3 June 2021, the Commission ...