Chapter 3|Due Diligence Obligations - All Intermediary Services|📖 3 min read
1. Providers of intermediary services that are not established in the Union but offer services in the Union shall designate, in writing, a legal representative in one of the Member States where the provider offers its services.
2. Providers shall enable their legal representatives to be contacted by electronic means, in addition to by postal address.
3. Providers shall mandate their legal representatives to:
(a) receive, comply with and enforce orders and decisions issued by the relevant authorities in respect of this Regulation;
(b) be contacted by and respond to queries from recipients of the service, the Digital Services Coordinators, other relevant competent authorities, the Commission and the Board, in respect of this Regulation.
4. The legal representative may also be mandated by the provider to receive and respond to claims for damages in respect of the provider's compliance with this Regulation.
5. Providers shall be held liable for non-compliance with obligations under this Regulation, regardless of whether their legal representative failed to comply with tasks mandated pursuant to paragraph 3.
6. Providers of very large online platforms and of very large online search engines shall designate a legal representative in each Member State in which they offer their services.
Understanding This Article
Article 13 ensures that providers established outside the EU but serving EU users can be effectively reached by authorities, users, and regulatory bodies within the Union. This is critical for enforcement - without EU-based representatives, authorities would face jurisdictional challenges compelling overseas companies to comply with DSA obligations.
The legal representative acts as the provider's agent for DSA matters within the EU. They must be empowered to receive binding orders and decisions, meaning actions taken against the representative are legally equivalent to actions against the provider itself. This prevents providers from evading enforcement by claiming their overseas headquarters cannot be reached.
Representatives must handle both regulatory communications (from authorities, coordinators, the Commission) and user queries. This dual role ensures both governmental enforcement and user rights can be exercised effectively against non-EU providers.
Importantly, paragraph 5 clarifies that designating a representative doesn't shift liability. The provider remains fully responsible for DSA compliance even if the representative fails to act. This prevents providers from using representatives as liability shields.
VLOPs and VLOSEs face heightened requirements: they must designate representatives in every Member State where they offer services. Given their scale and impact (45+ million EU users), this ensures local authorities in all affected countries can directly engage with these systemically important platforms.
Key Points
Non-EU providers offering services in EU must designate legal representatives
Representatives must be contactable by electronic means and postal address
Representatives receive orders, decisions, and queries on provider's behalf
Providers remain liable even if representatives fail in their duties
VLOPs/VLOSEs must designate representatives in each Member State they serve
Ensures authorities can reach non-EU providers within EU jurisdiction
Practical Application
For US-Based Platforms: Meta (Facebook, Instagram), Alphabet (Google, YouTube), X (Twitter), and Reddit - all US companies - must designate EU legal representatives. For example, Meta might designate 'Meta Platforms Ireland Limited' as its representative, with offices capable of receiving legal notices and orders.
For Chinese Platforms: TikTok (ByteDance) and Shein must designate EU representatives despite being Chinese-owned. TikTok's EU representative would handle removal orders from EU authorities, user complaints, and transparency reporting obligations on TikTok's behalf.
For VLOPs: Amazon, exceeding 45 million EU users, must designate separate legal representatives in Germany, France, Spain, Italy, Poland, and each other Member State where it operates. German authorities contact Amazon's German representative for DSA matters affecting German users, while French authorities contact the French representative.
For Representative Powers: When a French court orders TikTok to remove specific content, the order can be served on TikTok's French legal representative. The representative must accept service and ensure TikTok complies. If TikTok doesn't comply, enforcement actions can proceed against TikTok through its representative.
For User Interactions: An Italian user needing to contact Reddit about a content moderation decision can reach Reddit through its Italian (or EU) representative, rather than navigating US corporate structures. The representative must forward inquiries to Reddit and relay responses.
Liability Example: If TikTok's EU representative fails to forward an urgent CSAM removal order to TikTok headquarters, and the content remains online, TikTok itself remains liable for non-compliance. TikTok cannot argue 'our representative failed to tell us' - the provider bears ultimate responsibility.
For Smaller Non-EU Providers: A US-based web hosting company serving European customers must designate a representative in at least one EU Member State. This could be a law firm, compliance service, or subsidiary authorized to handle DSA matters.