On 12 October, The Centre on Regulation in Europe (CERRE) brought together a distinguished panel of experts, including academia, civil society, and national regulatory authorities, to present the “Elements for Effective Systemic Risk Assessment under the DSA” report authored by Sally Broughton Micova ( CERRE Academic Co-Director/ University of East Anglia) and Andrea Calef (Lecturer in Economics/ University of East Anglia).
The online event, moderated by Christoph Busch, a CERRE Research Fellow at the University of Osnabrück, featured insights from Owen Bennett, International Online Safety lead at Ofcom, Joris van Hoboken, Associate Professor at the University of Amsterdam, and Maria Luisa Stasi, Head of Law and Policy for Digital Markets at ARTICLE 19.
On April 25, the European Commission designated 17 Very Large Online Platforms (VLOPs) and 2 Very Large Online Search Engines (VLOSEs) under the Digital Services Act (DSA), endowing them with new responsibilities such as tackling disinformation, monitoring harmful online content, and safeguarding minors. Significantly, the DSA introduced a novel compliance monitoring mechanism mandating continuous risk assessments and risk mitigation actions. While the initial risk assessment reports were due by August 25, there remains keen interest in providers’ systemic risk assessment methods and the challenges they encountered. The report highlights the parallels between systemic risk in finance and the digital realm, offering insights and recommendations for digital regulation.
Similarly, the CERRE event delved into crucial questions about defining the “system,” assessing societal impacts, involving stakeholders, and the upcoming opportunities for stakeholder engagement in future risk assessments.
