On 17 February next year, the Communications Regulatory Authority (CRA) is expected to become the National Coordinator for Digital Services in Lithuania to ensure the implementation of the Digital Services Act.
The new Digital Services Act will update the current legal framework for digital services and contribute to a safe and accountable online environment. This will for the first time lay down common rules on the obligations and accountability of providers of intermediation services, i.e. information transfer, podcasting, hosting, web search and online platform services across the EU single market. It will also open up new opportunities for cross-border digital services and ensure a high level of protection for all users, wherever they live in the EU.
“The CRA, as the National Coordinator for Digital Services, will have the duty to ensure the implementation of the Digital Services Act in Lithuania, to represent Lithuania in relations with the European Commission, and to collaborate with Digital Service Coordinators from other EU countries,” says Vygantas Vaitkus, a member of the CRA Council, who shared his experience this week in Brussels with the European Commission’s representatives and with the future Digital Service Coordinators.
He said that the biggest challenges for everyone so far are adapting the legislative framework to implement the new regulation, clarifying the roles of the responsible authorities, and allocating sufficient resources for this. One of the key ones is the formation of teams to deal with new challenges in the digital space.
“One of the main objectives of this Regulation is to better protect users and their rights online. We keep repeating that there is a dark side to digitalisation that affects customers: cyberbullying, fraud, child pornography, gambling and other illegal content. The new rules will ensure better consumer protection, a wider choice of services and are expected to reduce the impact of illegal content,” says V. Vaitkus.
Meanwhile, the Regulation will make it easier for digital service providers to start and expand in the EU, thanks to harmonised rules in the single market.
Updated on 2023-08-03