The Internet Commission presents its working paper at the University of Amsterdam’s ‘DSA and Platform Regulation Conference’
A day prior to the EU’s Digital Services Act (DSA) becoming fully applicable across Europe, the DSA Observatory, a leading research on DSA-related thought leadership at the University of Amsterdam, organised a two-day conference to discuss how the DSA can make a meaningful contribution to platform regulation. It took place on the 15th and 16th February 2024 and featured a broad range of stakeholders including policy-makers, NGOs, academics, and other pivotal industry figures and was
Alongside a range of speakers from across Europe, there was also a call for papers which the Internet Commission’s Ruairí Harrison and Jonny Shipp took part in. Among presentations on a number of focus areas, Ruairí and Jonny presented their research on the out-of-court dispute settlement (ODS) mechanism established by Article 21 DSA, which is summarised in the working paper entitled: Settling DSA-related Disputes Outside the Courtroom: The Opportunities and Challenges Presented by Article 21 of the Digital Services Act’ and is available here.
The conference was an occasion to present some unique insights which are addressed in more detail in the working paper and include:
- Certain challenges which ODS bodies may face when proving their ‘independence’ and ‘expertise’ under the current regulation, and
- The outcomes of their series of mini-workshops discussing the kinds of complaints that are likely to arise and the consequences of the various ODS market segmentations which may flow from Article 21 DSA.
Ruairí and Jonny also had the chance to introduce the dispute resolution work of Trust Alliance Group and chat with many others sharing their enthusiasm about the potential for the DSA’s out-of-court dispute settlement provision to empower users and enhance their agency online.
The Internet Commission looks forward to continuing to contribute to these dynamic discussions on digital safety rules and the merits of alternative forms of redress to maximise user rights online.
