The PSOE seeks an urgent processing of the reform that enables the supervision of social networks by the National Commission for Markets and Competition (CNMC) as coordinator of digital services.
The supervisor is the entity designated by the Government for the control of digital markets and to enforce the European DSA Regulation, but this requires several legal changes. Among them, allowing information requirements, inspections or even the imposition of sanctions on digital operators.
To that end, the Executive submitted in July of last year to the Cortes Generales a bill with these changes, and also the necessary reforms to ensure compliance with the European Media Regulation.
The project is currently being processed in the Congress's Economy Committee, in the hearing phase. It is, in fact, the only project that has given ‘signs of life’ in this Committee in recent months.
He wants to approve it as soon as possible
However, the PSOE has decided to ‘segregate’ the authorization to the CNMC to approve it as soon as possible in Congress. It registered a bill with these measures two weeks ago and will seek its processing in next Thursday's Plenary Session.
Sources from the Socialist Group have explained to Demócrata that the intention is none other than to approve this initiative as soon as possible, detached from any other measure that could slow down its processing.
These sources allege that the delay in this authorization is one of the usual complaints of the opposition during the appearances of experts that the Economy Commission is holding.
The opposition criticizes the delay
Taking into account that many of these criticisms come from the PP, in the PSOE they now challenge the ‘populars’ to facilitate the reform so that the CNMC can develop a full supervision of the operators that provide digital services.
The aforementioned project is not the Government's first attempt, which already tried to enable the body led by Cani Fernández in the omnibus decree-law repealed last year.
Then, PP and Junts reproached the Executive for using the extension of the ‘social shield’ and the pension increase to approve more measures. Therefore, the measure was not included in the second decree-law, which was indeed validated, and ended up being processed in the aforementioned project.
“If they complain, now they have no excuse to support him,” they convey in the PSOE.
What does the reform consist of?
The initiative modifies two laws, the Law 34/2002 on information society services and electronic commerce and the Law 3/2013 on the creation of the CNMC, with the aim of granting the necessary powers to the supervisor to act as coordinator of digital services in Spain.
This body becomes central supervisory authority of the Digital Services Regulation and will be able to process complaints, grant or revoke the status of “reliable flagger”, and develop investigations, among other functions.
Also foreseen is a regime of infringements and sanctions for non-compliance which, in the most serious cases, can amount to up to 6% of the operator's annual worldwide turnover.
The Spanish Data Protection Agency also retains a specific role in matters linked to the prohibition of advertising based on special categories of data and in the profiling of minors.