The European Commission issued, on 16 November 2022, a press release to mark the entry into force, on the same date, of Regulation (EU) 2022/2065 of 19 October 2022 on a Single Market For Digital Services and Amending Directive 2000/31/EC (Digital Services Act) ('DSA'), after its publication in the Official Journal of the European Union on 27 October 2022. In particular, the Commission reminded that the DSA applies to all digital services that connect consumers to goods, services, or content, creates comprehensive new obligations for online platforms to reduce harms and counter risks online, introduces strong protections for users' rights online, and places digital platforms under a new transparency and accountability framework. Notably, the Commission highlighted that the DSA is a first-of-a-kind regulatory toolbox globally and sets an international benchmark for a regulatory approach to online intermediaries.

Moreover, the Commission detailed that, following the DSA's entry into force, online platforms will have three months, until 17 February 2023, to report the number of active end users on their websites. Based on these user numbers, the Commission noted that it will make an assessment as to whether a platform should be designated a very large online platform or search engine, and that, following such a designation decision, the entity in question will have four months to comply with the obligations under the DSA, including carrying out and providing to the Commission the first annual risk assessment exercise.

Finally, the Commission specified that EU Member States will need to empower their Digital Services Coordinators by 17 February 2024, the general date of entry in application of the DSA, when the DSA will be fully applicable for all entities in its scope.

You can read the press release here.