A Europe fit for the digital age

The State of the Union bears the massive effects of the COVID-19 virus. The health and economic effects are enormous, but so too are the political, social, and cultural effects. However, we can only come out of the crisis if we work together.

The COVID-19 pandemic has shown us that digital tools are essential in our everyday lives and are only going to become more important in the future. European technology companies are struggling to compete globally: difficult investment conditions and a fragmented EU market have not helped. The foreign digital giants are benefiting from our Internal Market and our infrastructures. Therefore, the European Commission’s proposals on the Digital Services Act and the Digital Markets Act are more than welcome. We expect the Commission to put the principle of fairness of the market at the top of the new rules. There must be a strong and compelling signal that the EU is going to build a Digital Internal Market in a way that each individual, every consumer and every EU business has their rights respected.

The proposed preventive mechanisms for the so-called ‘gatekeepers’ on our territory foresee a much faster process and sanctions for those who repeatedly fail to comply with our European standards. These big companies are only getting bigger, but not necessarily getting better. The new digital rules, such as the data-sharing obligation, must carefully set limits on this mischievous behaviour from the big platforms.

The rules for content shared on social media and online market places must be fit for the digital world of today and tomorrow. The guiding principle is that what is illegal offline has to be illegal online. We must protect our users from abuse and unfair business practices. It is vital to stop the spread of illegal content on the Internet, especially when it affects the most vulnerable Europeans.

We expect the Commission to set safeguarding freedom of expression as a key principle when shaping the new legislation. As online platforms have become important forums for discussion, we cannot have a “ministry of truth” deciding which voices and opinions should be heard, whether it is located in Brussels or in Silicon Valley.

Including the platforms in third countries in the proposal at least partially closes a very big loophole in the previous legislation that enabled illegal products to enter the EU from online market places.

We don’t want to destroy Big Tech, but help it and businesses, in general, to innovate more, based on European values, without falling into the trap of protectionism. Europe’s message must be “game over” to unfair trade practices.

At the same time, we expect the Commission to avoid creating disproportionate burdens for smaller online market places. Small and medium-sized companies should be excluded from administrative burdens to the farthest extent possible, so that they have room to grow and innovate. We expect the Commission, together with Member States, to present a roadmap towards achieving a reduction of at least 30 percent in administrative burdens.

We must ensure that Europe will also be in the lead in the two essential innovation areas of the future: Artificial Intelligence and Digitalisation. We need a coordinated EU Artificial Intelligence strategy as Europe’s moon-shot project of this new century. Unlocking the power of data while safeguarding competition, innovation and privacy in digital markets will create a coherent global digital economy landscape.

We want the digitisation of our economy and cybersecurity to go hand in hand. A data economy can only flourish when trust in products, applications and infrastructure is guaranteed. We want to ensure that all Internet-connected infrastructure and products in the EU are secure-by-design, resilient to cyber incidents and quickly patched when vulnerabilities are discovered. We also want better coordination between EU governments since cybersecurity is to a large extent also a national competence. In order to achieve this, we need to strengthen the role of the European Network and Information Security Agency. There must be no ambiguity and fragmentation in national laws on cybersecurity requirements for infrastructure, connected products and services.

The four freedoms allowing people, goods, services and capital to move freely - the European Single Market - is essential for opening new possibilities for the benefit of everybody - workers, businesses and consumers. We expect the Commission to put strengthening the European Single Market on top of its agenda.

Andreas Schwab MEP, EPP Group IMCO Coordinator and EP Rapporteur on Contestable and Fair Markets in the Digital Sector (Digital Markets Act).