As of January 2023, the European Union (EU) will introduce the Digital Services Package, a new set of regulations for the digital space. This package consists of two parts, the Digital Services Act (DSA) and the Digital Markets Act (DMA) and comes as a continuation of previous regulation packages for the digital space by the EU. Our group intends to shed light on the extent of knowledge about such data regulations in the general public, most notably the younger, so-called digital native, generation. Now what is interesting and already feed into our hypothesis, that the digital sector is lacking public interest, is the fact that there were little to no press articles to be found on the new Digital Services Package (DSP).

To disprove our hypothesis, we will not only look at press coverage but at the actual EU residents most directly affected by the new regulation. In hopes of being able to truly represent public opinion we will survey them on their knowledge and personal stance toward technology.

The most comprehensive English-language article was in fact found in a US newspaper: The New York Times. The not only describes the new regulation set out by the law package, as European pages do, but also is able to analyse it and critique it’s weak points. This diversion shows a very interesting and key distinction between the European and US-American approach to tech and its legislation. While the US is desperately lacking digital legislation and relying on the EU to enforce “borderless” laws, the discussion about those topics is held there. Another article by the same newspaper pondered over the philosophical implications of being referred to as “Data Subjects” instead of Citizens or residents in the GDPR legal text.

These terms recall notions heard of in the declaration of independence of cyberspace, discussed here. The digital space is no longer bound to territorially defined countries, flowing (more or less) freely across continents. Therefore, whatever legislation is brought into effect by the European Union affects the digital experience of users across the globe.

These objectives of course entail an immense amount of work, when intending to enforce the new legal package. The article points out that exactly the issue of following through with the standards set out were problematic when it comes to the past GDPR experience. By leaving the investigative part to the member states, no one effectively ensured the legality of websites, and the capitalist platforms were to follow the laws on grounds of their conscience.

Intending to improve on previous mistakes the European Commission intends to hire over 200 new recruits with the specific task of monitoring the implementation of the DSA and DMA. Considering that the package will affect the entire cyberspace, 200 people seem to be barely enough. Opposed to the highly competitive job market, offering high salaries at big tech companies, question arise concerning how these new recruits will be incentivised to stay in bureaucracy. Once again, the intention for an improved digital experience adhering to privacy rights is stated but its realisation poses numerous hurdles.

This being said, the DSP is still heavily rewriting and redefining what online platforms are allowed to do with user data without the prosumer’s knowledge. Targeting algorithms must have the option to be switched off, Online stores are required to verify third party sellers and their products, and advertisement targeted toward children will become illegal.

The DSP is a big step in the right direction, offering a legal framework to demand digital rights. Through these means prosumers, data subjects, citizens, web users are able to go to court against tech companies too often considered “too big to care” Therefore it is evermore crucial that the European public is aware of this new set of rules and regulations to be able to hold the tech world accountable together!

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