Dutch Authority for Consumers and Markets Reports Widespread Non-Compliance with EU Digital Laws

On 10 July 2024, the Dutch Authority for Consumers and Markets (ACM) reported that many online service providers have yet to comply with the Digital Services Act (DSA) and the Platform-to-Business Regulation (P2B). The findings come from a sample survey of 50 businesses.

Compliance Requirements

Since 17 February 2024, the DSA mandates online service providers to implement safety measures, including efficient complaint-handling systems and transparent restrictions on user accounts. The P2B Regulation, effective since 2020, requires transparency in general terms and conditions, search result rankings, and dispute settlements.

Survey Results

ACM’s survey revealed notable non-compliance in several areas:

• P2B Regulation: General terms and conditions were often incomplete or not easily accessible. Key information about account restrictions, search result rankings, and internal complaint handling was frequently missing.

• DSA: Many platforms lacked accessible points of contact for service recipients and authorities. Information on content moderation was often insufficient or hard to find. Additionally, mechanisms for reporting illegal content were either absent or difficult to locate.

The ACM clarified it is the designated regulator for both the DSA and P2B Regulation, but can only enforce these regulations after Dutch implementation laws take effect, expected in early 2025. Despite this, ACM stresses the importance of immediate compliance, offering guidelines and information on its website to assist businesses.

The P2B Regulation targets online platforms and search engines, ensuring transparency and fair treatment of business users. The DSA extends to all providers handling user content online, with fewer rules for small businesses. ACM’s guidelines aim to aid compliance, and businesses and consumers can file non-compliance reports to help ACM prepare for future enforcement.

Read the press release here.