Articles in This Chapter

• Article 49: Competent authorities and Digital Services Coordinators

  Article 49 of DSA Chapter IV Section 1 requires each Member State to designate competent authorities for DSA supervision with one designated as Digital Services Coordinator serving as primary national authority responsible for enforcement and coordination, establishing national regulatory architecture.

• Article 50: Requirements for Digital Services Coordinators

  Article 50 of DSA Chapter IV Section 1 establishes requirements ensuring Digital Services Coordinators have independence, adequate resources, and necessary powers to perform supervisory functions effectively, protecting regulatory independence from political and commercial influence.

• Article 51: Powers of Digital Services Coordinators

  Article 51 of DSA Chapter IV Section 1 - establishes comprehensive investigative and enforcement powers for Digital Services Coordinators including information requests, inspections, fines, periodic penalties, and extraordinary access restriction for serious harms

• Article 52: Penalties

  Article 52 of DSA Chapter IV Section 1 - establishes penalty framework with maximum fines of 6% of global turnover for DSA violations, 1% for procedural violations, and 5% daily for periodic penalties, requiring effectiveness, proportionality and dissuasiveness

• Article 53: Right to lodge a complaint

  Article 53 of DSA Chapter IV Section 2 - grants users and representative organizations the right to lodge complaints with Digital Services Coordinators alleging DSA violations, with coordinated assessment and transmission mechanisms

• Article 54: Compensation

  Article 54 of DSA Chapter IV Section 2 - establishes right for service recipients to seek compensation through national courts for damages suffered due to provider DSA violations, enabling private enforcement alongside public regulatory action

• Article 55: Activity reports

  Article 55 of DSA Chapter IV Section 2 - requires Digital Services Coordinators to publish annual activity reports in machine-readable format covering enforcement actions, complaints received, orders issued, creating transparency and accountability for national DSA enforcement

• Article 56: Competences

  Article 56 of DSA Chapter IV Section 3 - establishes jurisdictional framework allocating enforcement competences between Member States (country of origin principle) and Commission (exclusive VLOP/VLOSE Section 5 supervision, concurrent other provisions), ensuring coordinated EU-wide enforcement while preventing regulatory fragmentation

• Article 57: Mutual assistance

  Article 57 of DSA Chapter IV Section 3 - establishes mutual assistance framework enabling DSCs and Commission to cooperate through information exchange, investigative assistance, and coordinated enforcement, operationalizing country of origin principle while ensuring cross-border user protection

• Article 58: Cross-border cooperation among Digital Services Coordinators

  Article 58 of DSA Chapter IV Section 3 - enables destination DSCs to formally request establishment DSCs investigate and enforce DSA violations affecting users in their Member States, with Board-mediated multi-DSC requests for cross-border issues and mandatory response requirements

• Article 59: Referral to the Commission

  Article 59 of DSA Chapter IV Section 3 - enables Board to escalate cross-border enforcement disputes to Commission when establishment DSCs fail to respond adequately to Article 58 requests, with Commission review powers and authority to request DSC reconsideration

• Article 60: Joint investigations

  Article 60 of DSA Chapter IV Section 3 - enables establishment DSC to launch and lead joint investigations with destination DSCs to investigate cross-border DSA violations, pooling investigative resources and expertise across Member States

• Article 61: European Board for Digital Services

  Article 61 of DSA Chapter IV Section 4 - establishes the European Board for Digital Services as independent advisory group of DSCs to ensure consistent DSA application, coordinate guidance on emerging issues, and assist Commission in VLOP/VLOSE supervision

• Article 62: Structure of the Board

  Article 62 of DSA Chapter IV Section 4 - defines Board composition (DSCs represented by high-level officials), Commission chair role, one-vote-per-Member-State system, simple majority decision-making, and administrative support arrangements

• Article 63: Tasks of the Board

  Article 63 of DSA Chapter IV Section 4 - defines Board's tasks including issuing opinions and recommendations to DSCs and Commission, supporting VLOP/VLOSE supervision, coordinating cross-border cooperation, and developing European standards and guidance for consistent DSA implementation

• Article 64: Development of expertise and capabilities

  Article 64 of DSA Chapter IV Section 5 - establishes Commission's role in developing EU-wide expertise and capabilities for DSA enforcement, coordinating assessment of systemic issues, and facilitating Member State cooperation through personnel secondment and knowledge sharing

• Article 65: Enforcement of obligations of providers of very large online platforms and of very large online search engines

  Article 65 of DSA Chapter IV Section 4 - establishes Commission's authority to investigate VLOP/VLOSE compliance even before formal proceedings, enabling both proactive Commission investigations and DSC-triggered enforcement requests when national authorities suspect violations affecting their users

• Article 66: Initiation of proceedings by the Commission and cooperation in investigation

  Article 66 of DSA Chapter IV Section 4 - establishes procedures for Commission to formally initiate enforcement proceedings against VLOPs/VLOSEs, requiring notification to DSCs and Board, mandating DSC cooperation and information sharing, and preventing parallel national enforcement on same conduct

• Article 67: Requests for information

  Article 67 of DSA Chapter IV Section 4 - grants Commission authority to compel information from VLOPs/VLOSEs and third parties through simple requests or binding decisions, with penalties for non-compliance, incorrect, or misleading responses

• Article 68: Power to take interviews and statements

  Article 68 of DSA Chapter IV Section 4 - grants Commission authority to conduct voluntary interviews with any person for gathering investigation information, with power to record interviews and DSC participation when interviews occur outside Commission premises

• Article 69: Power to conduct inspections

  Article 69 of DSA Chapter IV Section 4 - grants Commission most intrusive investigatory power to conduct on-site inspections of VLOP premises, examining records, IT systems, and algorithms, with power to seal premises and Member State assistance obligations

• Article 70: Interim measures

  Article 70 of DSA Chapter IV Section 4 - enables Commission to order temporary corrective measures during ongoing investigations when urgent action needed to prevent serious harm, based on prima facie infringement finding

• Article 71: Commitments

  Establishes the legal framework allowing the European Commission to accept and make binding commitments offered by VLOPs and VLOSEs to ensure DSA compliance during enforcement proceedings, providing an alternative resolution mechanism that can terminate investigations when commitments adequately address identified violations.

• Article 72: Monitoring actions

  Empowers the European Commission to conduct ongoing monitoring of VLOPs and VLOSEs to ensure effective implementation and compliance with DSA obligations, including authority to access databases and algorithms, retain documents, and appoint independent external experts and auditors to provide specialized technical expertise supporting enforcement activities.

• Article 73: Non-compliance

  Establishes the Commission's authority to adopt formal non-compliance decisions when VLOPs or VLOSEs violate DSA obligations, fail to implement interim measures, or breach binding commitments, creating the definitive legal determination triggering potential fines, periodic penalties, and mandatory remediation requirements.

• Article 74: Fines

  Empowers the European Commission to impose financial penalties up to 6% of worldwide annual turnover on VLOPs and VLOSEs for intentional or negligent violations of DSA obligations, interim measures, or binding commitments, with lower 1% ceiling for procedural infractions, creating powerful deterrent enforcing compliance through significant economic consequences.

• Article 75: Enhanced supervision of remedies to address infringements of obligations laid down in Section 5 of Chapter III

  Establishes enhanced supervision mechanism requiring VLOPs/VLOSEs found non-compliant with Section 5 obligations to develop detailed action plans for remediation, subject to Commission approval and ongoing monitoring, creating structured compliance pathway with Board consultation ensuring systematic violation correction.

• Article 76: Periodic penalty payments

  Authorizes Commission to impose daily penalty payments up to 5% average daily worldwide turnover compelling VLOPs/VLOSEs to comply with information requests, inspections, interim measures, commitments, and remediation decisions, creating escalating economic pressure forcing compliance with enforcement orders.

• Article 77: Limitation period for the imposition of penalties

  Establishes 5-year limitation period for Commission to impose Article 74 fines and Article 76 periodic penalties, with provisions for commencement, interruptions through investigative actions, suspensions during litigation, and maximum 10-year cap

• Article 78: Limitation period for the enforcement of penalties

  Establishes 5-year limitation period for Commission to enforce penalty decisions after they become final, with interruptions through enforcement actions and suspensions during payment extensions or court stays

• Article 79: Right to be heard and access to the file

  Establishes procedural rights requiring Commission to provide providers opportunity to be heard on preliminary findings and intended measures before adopting penalty decisions, with access to Commission files subject to confidentiality protections

• Article 80: Publication of decisions

  Requires Commission to publish enforcement decisions (interim measures, commitments, non-compliance, fines, periodic penalties) stating party names and main content including penalties, while protecting confidential information

• Article 81: Review by the Court of Justice of the European Union

  Establishes Court of Justice unlimited jurisdiction to review Commission penalty decisions per TFEU Article 261, enabling the Court to cancel, reduce, or increase fines and periodic penalties imposed on very large online platforms and search engines

• Article 82: Requests for access restrictions and cooperation with national courts

  Enables Commission to request Digital Services Coordinators assess access restriction measures when all enforcement powers exhausted and serious harm persists, establishes Commission participation in national court proceedings, and prevents national court decisions contradicting Commission decisions

• Article 83: Implementing acts relating to Commission intervention

  Authorizes Commission to adopt implementing acts establishing practical and operational arrangements for proceedings under Articles 69 and 72, hearings under Article 79, and information disclosure under Article 79, with mandatory public consultation and Digital Services Committee advisory procedure

• Article 84: Professional secrecy

  Establishes comprehensive professional secrecy obligations prohibiting Commission, Board, Member State authorities, and all persons involved in DSA enforcement from disclosing information acquired or exchanged under the Regulation, protecting confidential information while preserving authorized information exchange

• Article 85: Information sharing system

  Requires Commission to establish and maintain AGORA, a reliable and secure information sharing system for communications between Digital Services Coordinators, Commission, and Board

• Article 86: Representation

  Enables service recipients to mandate not-for-profit bodies, organizations, or associations to exercise DSA rights on their behalf, with platforms required to prioritize complaint processing from qualifying representative entities, addressing individual users' resource constraints

• Article 87: Exercise of the delegation

  Establishes procedures for Commission's exercise of delegated act powers under Articles 24, 33, 37, 40, 43, including 5-year renewable delegation period starting November 16 2022, revocation rights for Parliament and Council, mandatory expert consultation, and 3-month objection procedures

• Article 88: Committee procedure

  Establishes Digital Services Committee to assist Commission in adopting implementing acts, operating under Regulation (EU) No 182/2011 advisory procedure with Member State representatives providing expert input