Basic principles of the e-commerce directive should be maintained

The Digital Services Act is a key legislative proposal for European businesses and citizens alike. Given the importance of this topic and the forthcoming European Presidency, the Czech Republic considers the Digital Services Act to be one of the priority policy areas.

Government and industry actors from the D9+ countries agree that the act is an opportunity to clarify the roles of online intermediaries and support the innovative potential of the European economy – the act should modernize rather than replace the e-commerce directive, which has enabled innovation to grow.

However, we should maintain its basic principles and avoid over-regulation. Thus, the Digital Services Act will be a compact horizontal tool for the cross-border provision of digital services. Czech businesses deem we need a precise regulation that will solve specific problems.

A one-size-fits-all model – general legislation with an unclear scope – would cost time and money that many of our companies, especially SMEs, simply do not have, especially in view of the ongoing pandemic and economic crisis.