EU Commissioner Breton: Stop Politicising The Digital Services Act

19 August 2024

Access Now, ARTICLE 19, and Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF) are calling on the European Union (EU) Commissioner Thierry Breton to stop politicising the enforcement of the Digital Services Act (DSA). The joint civil society statement is in response to Commissioner Breton’s recent letter to X on the far-right riots in the UK and the live-streamed conversation between the U.S. presidential candidate Donald Trump and X owner Elon Musk.

“Commissioner Breton will do well to remember that the Digital Services Act is enforced and guided by evidence rather than political sentiment,” said Eliška Pirkova, Senior Policy Analyst and Global Freedom of Expression Lead at Access Now. “Under no circumstances should the Digital Services Act be used as a political tool to impose disproportionate content restrictions against online platforms, especially during politically sensitive times.”

It is of the utmost importance to condemn the racist and Islamophobic violence in the UK. However, Commissioner Bretons’ letter remains silent on whether the serious risks of UK far-right riots taking place outside the EU have reached severe negative consequences for those within the EU jurisdiction. Similarly, even if the interview with Donald Trump may raise concerns, disseminating relevant information to public discourse does not automatically become a systemic societal risk.

“The Digital Services Act must not become a tool for politically driven interventions. Its enforcement should be based on evidence and uphold users’ fundamental rights, including freedom of expression,” said Barbora Bukovská, Senior Director for Law and Policy at ARTICLE 19. “Any suggestion that making highly newsworthy content, such as an interview with a former U.S. president and a major candidate in the upcoming presidential election, accessible to EU users could conflict with the DSA, is deeply problematic.”

The statement urges the European Commission to clarify its understanding of systemic risks under the DSA, including the granularity of required evidence or benchmarks platforms must follow when assessing if their systems and processes pose risks to public discourse. The letter also calls on the EU Commission to set a high standard for protecting fundamental rights, including freedom of expression and of information online.

“Breton’s letter raises concerns that the Digital Services Act could be used by EU regulators as a global censorship tool rather than addressing societal risks in the EU,” said Christoph Schmon, International Policy Director at the Electronic Frontier Foundation. “The DSA deserves enforcement that prioritises human rights, not one that pressures online platforms to monitor user speech and proactively restrict content.”

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