The Digital Markets Act (DMA) and Digital Services Act (DSA) proposed by the European Commission to curtail the ever growing power of digital giants in Europe are fit for purpose, in the EESC's view, provided they go hand and hand with the taxation of tech companies, better working conditions for platform workers and data governance.

In a package of opinions adopted at its April plenary session, the EESC came out in favour of the DMA and the DSA proposed by the European Commission to revive competition on the internet.

The DMA is a long awaited piece of legislation. "For over ten years EU representatives have been calling for a level-playing field with big online platforms," said Emilie Prouzet, rapporteur of the EESC opinion on the law. "With the DMA, the European Commission is introducing a process specifically designed for these very large players. And we do support, as a good solution for Europe, most of what they propose. The DMA deals with online gatekeepers, that's all it does – but that's so much already!"

While supporting the DMA in its own right, the EESC insists on the need to complete this legal ecosystem with regulations tackling the other crucial issues surrounding the digital economy.

The Committee vows to keep a very watchful eye on planned legislation to cover the taxation of Big Tech, working conditions for platform workers, consumer protection on global markets and other thorny issues that need to be addressed to make sure everyone can benefit – consumers and workers as well as businesses.

The EESC is also, on the whole, supportive of the DSA, which is intended to regulate services that have been shaping and transforming the ways people communicate, connect, consume and do business.

In the EESC's view, it is important to support the Commission's efforts to maintain uniform rules across the bloc in its efforts to make legislation "fit for the digital age", as this will give Europe greater leverage on the global stage.

"We must prevent the internal market being fragmented by a proliferation of national rules and regulations that could undermine the system and prevent all European companies benefiting from a strong single market," says Gonçalo Lobo Xavier, rapporteur of the EESC's opinion on the DSA.

The EESC argues that having common rules is also an opportunity for Europe to set global standards ensuring consumers a high level of safety and protection as regards online goods and content, much as the GDPR has done for data protection.

With data becoming the "new oil" in today's increasingly digital economy, the European Commission is also stepping in with measures to encourage safe data sharing under common rules across Europe.

The EESC stands firmly behind the data governance regulation.

"This legislation offers a very interesting possibility of promoting a European digitalisation path, as the EU is at the moment the only organisation which is thinking seriously and in detail and about how to manage digital data," said Giuseppe Guerini, rapporteur of the EESC opinion on the data governance proposal. "We don't want to go down the path of an excessive liberalisation, and we also want to make sure that data is not used for purposes which are not subscribed to by the citizens. We encourage the EC to continue down this path with the necessary support for the implementation of this system of data governance." (dm)