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On February 13, the European Commission (EC) and the European Board for Digital Services (EBDS) endorsed the integration of the Code of Practice on Disinformation (the Disinformation Code) into the framework of the Digital Services Act (DSA). 

Article 45 of the DSA provides for the formation of voluntary codes of conduct at EU level to ”contribute to the proper application of” the DSA. The Disinformation Code is the second code integrated into the DSA via Article 45, following the EC’s recent integration of the Code of Conduct on Countering Illegal Hate…

Continue Reading EU’s Code of Conduct on Disinformation Integrated into DSA

On January 20, in a long-awaited move, the European Commission (EC) announced the integration of the revised Code of Conduct on Countering Illegal Hate Speech Online (the Hate Speech Code) into the regulatory framework of the Digital Services Act (DSA). 

Article 45 of the DSA provides for the formation of voluntary codes of conduct at EU level to ”contribute to the proper application of” the DSA. The Hate Speech Code marks the first Code to be integrated into the DSA framework via the Article 45 process. 

Background

The Hate Speech Code revises and…

Continue Reading EU’s Code of Conduct Countering Online Hate Speech Becomes Part of the DSA

Today marks the effective date of the Digital Operational Resilience Act (DORA) and with it, additional incident reporting obligations for in-scope financial entities. 

With the aim of standardising the incident reporting process for financial entities throughout the EU, from today, in-scope financial entities must report any ‘major ICT-related incidents’ to their relevant competent authority. 1For the majority of financial entities within the scope of DORA in Ireland, this will be the Central Bank of Ireland while for others (such as pensions trustees) it will be the Pensions Authority. These new incident reporting obligations apply in addition to…

Continue Reading Navigating the DORA ICT Incident Reporting Obligations

Following the consultation, the Coimisiún na Meán (CnaM) has today, 14 August 2023, published notice of the designation of video-sharing platform services (VSPSs) as a category of relevant online services the providers of which are under the jurisdiction of Ireland. This designation becomes effective on 11 September 2023.Continue Reading Coimisiún na Meán publishes notice of the designation of video-sharing platform services under the OSMR

On 19 July 2023, the Irish Government announced their intention to appoint John Evans as the Digital Services Commissioner in Coimisiún na Meán (CnaM). His appointment will take effect from 24 July 2023.

As per Head 6 of the General Scheme of the Digital Services Bill which was published by the Irish government earlier this year, it is intended that Mr Evans will be responsible for coordinating the supervision and enforcement of the Digital Services Act (DSA) in Ireland as the Digital Services Commissioner. He will also be responsible for liaising and cooperating with the European…

Continue Reading Commissioner for Digital Services in Coimisiún na Meán to be Appointed
  • Implementing new regulatory regimes for how online service providers deal with harmful and illegal content;
  • Regulating broadcasting and on-demand services;
  • Supporting the development of the wider media sector with funding schemes, together with initiatives to promote the Irish language, media literacy, as well as equality, diversity and
… Continue Reading Coimisiún na Meán releases its Work Programme for 2023

On 31 May, Minister for Justice Simon Harris signed the European Union (Online Dissemination of Terrorist Content) (Designation of the Commissioner of the Garda Síochána as a Competent Authority) Regulations 2023 (the Regulations) into law. The Regulations designate An Garda Síochána as:

  1. the Irish competent authority for issuing removal orders in accordance with Article 3 of the EU Terrorist Content Online Regulation 2021/784 (the TCO); and
  2. the Irish contact point for clarification and feedback in relation to the removal orders that it issues.

Article 3 TCO provides that a competent authority of each EU Member State has…

Continue Reading An Garda Síochána appointed as a competent authority under the EU Terrorist Content Online Regulation

The Commission has published a draft delegated act on audits to be performed very large online platforms (“VLOPs“) and very large online search engines (“VLOSEs“) pursuant to Article 37 of Digital Services Act Regulation (“DSA“) for public feedback.Continue Reading Commission publishes Draft Delegated Act in respect of Audits conducted under DSA

Following the first designation of Very Large Online Platforms (“VLOPS“) and Very Large Online Search Engines (“VLOSEs”) under the Digital Services Act Regulation (“DSA“) on 25 April 2023, the European Commission has now announced a call for evidence from stakeholders to inform proposed delegated acts on data access mechanisms.Continue Reading Commission Calls for Stakeholder Views on Data Access Mechanism under DSA