The letter includes startups, large businesses, and business associations seeking to preserve the advantageous environment created by e-Commerce Directive guidance in the DSA.
Brussels, June 26th, 2020 — The Developers Alliance has joined an open letter that calls for the retaining and strengthening of the core principles of the e-Commerce Directive in the upcoming Digital Services Act. It has been signed by twenty-seven organizations from eleven EU Member States.
The letter highlights the e-Commerce Directive’s time tested careful balance of free expression and an intermediary’s legal responsibilities and discusses any potential increase in liability for businesses who serve as intermediaries.
“Making platforms liable by default, regardless of their knowledge of any illegal activity and without providing any guidance how they could mitigate increased liability, would add an untenable amount of legal risk for any small company. No platform wants to host illegal content, but only a comprehensive, multi-stakeholder approach to tackling this problem will work.”
The letter stresses the need for a regulatory framework that is manageable, provides a high-level of legal clarity, is flexible enough for a varied field of businesses, and is “future-oriented.” Finally, the letter calls for the retaining of the e-Commerce Directive’s country of origin principle in the DSA in order for businesses to tightly control the market availability of their products.
“The e-Commerce Directive has made it possible for our members to launch, grow and flourish in the EU market. It has allowed them to innovate, to find users and to build products based on the free flow of information, all while promoting responsible behaviour and providing untold benefits to Europe’s citizens.”
“We joined this call to the EU policymakers to wisely decide on the future framework for digital services, because software developers, like other entrepreneurs, need a clear, coherent and predictable regulatory environment.” stated Developers Alliance Director of EU Policy and Head of Brussels Office, Karina Stan. “The updated rules of the e-commerce directive should maintain its core principles and be flexible in order to allow online service providers to balance the fundamental values of safety, privacy, and freedom of expression for themselves and their users.“
“The internet works because it fosters participation and invites experimentation and collaborative improvement from everyone involved,“ said Bruce Gustafson, President, and CEO of the Developers Alliance. “Regulatory change that accounts for only the largest platforms risks destabilizing a system that also supports millions of digital entrepreneurs. Like technical changes to the internet, changes to internet regulation should be measured, precise, and delicately designed, taking into account the impact on everyone in the ecosystem.“
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About The Developers Alliance
The Developers Alliance is the world’s leading advocate for software developers and the companies invested in their success. Alliance members include industry leaders in consumer, enterprise, industrial, and emerging software development, and a global network of more than 70,000 developers.
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