We’re approaching that time of the year when Europeans go on summer vacation – and although those might look a little different this year due to COVID-19, the European institutions are still taking their regularly scheduled recess. With that in mind, we’re using this quiet period to look back on the digital and tech policy developments of the last six months and looking ahead to the second half of 2020.
January: All About Chargers
In January, the European Parliament called on the European Commission (EC) to implement a common charger for mobile devices. In its Circular Economy Action Plan, the Commission promised a common charger to be announced in the fall – but COVID-19 is likely to delay this action to late 2020 or the beginning of 2021. The App Association is concerned that a regulatory-mandated common charger forcing uniformity would inhibit innovation and reduce consumer choice.
February: Keeping Standards Open and Making Europe “Fit for the Digital Age”
In February, the EC carried out further steps in the review of the Horizontal Guidelines, which define the characteristics of specific types of horizontal cooperation agreements. The guidelines also provide details of how businesses should behave with respect to standard-essential patents (SEPs) without infringing EU competition rules.
We continue to advocate for the preservation of open standards in Europe and expect the results of the review later this year.
The EC also published three important documents related to its Digital Strategy. They included the overarching Communication “Shaping Europe’s Digital Future”, the European Strategy for Data, and the Artificial Intelligence Whitepaper. We broke those down and explained them for you on our blog. As many as 10 pieces of legislation may come from these documents.
The public consultations on the Data Strategy and AI White Paper were held through 15 June, and we participated in both of them. In the second half of 2020, the Commission is consulting on a legislative framework for Common European Data Spaces. A roadmap for ‘A European approach for trustworthy artificial intelligence’ is upcoming, according to the Commission.
March: COVID-19 Locks Down Europe
In March, the Commission released a Communication on building blocks for a comprehensive industrial strategy, which included an SME strategy. We applauded the EU for its commitment to boosting SMEs.
March also marked the beginning of COVID-19 lockdowns for many European countries. Increasingly, the European Commission was preoccupied with COVID-19 emergency measures, delaying several other agenda items such as the public consultation on the Digital Services Act (DSA). Instead, over the next couple of months, the Commission approved state-aid schemes and launched emergency financing resources. Many member states did the same. The COVID-19 outbreak also led to a debate over contract tracing apps, and the EU released a toolbox for member states wanting to supplement their coronavirus response with an app.
April: Quality Labels for mHealth Apps and Taking Stock of GDPR Performance
In April, the European Committee for Standardisation accelerated an effort to create a quality label for mHealth apps on behalf of the European Commission. The App Association’s survey responses emphasised the importance of taking a risk-based approach and the need to minimise requirements that would make such a label an insurmountable barrier for small developers.
The Commission also undertook its two-year review of the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), results of which were published recently. In our comments, we pointed out the need for alignment and better coordination between national data protection authorities, and the importance of flexibility for emerging technologies. The EC touched on both points in their final report.
May: The Digital Services Act Debate Takes Off
In May, the European Commission announced it was contracting a study on the “gatekeeping or market-dominating power of digital platforms”. The data gathered in the process could feed into the upcoming Digital Services Act. The DSA quickly became a major item of policy discussion.
June: Discussing Competition and Ex-Ante Regulation in the Platform Economy
In June, the DSA debate continued and with the public consultation on the legislation, the Commission also launched inception impact assessments on a “New Competition Tool” and an “Ex-Ante Regulatory Instrument for Platforms acting as Gatekeepers”. The App Association has commented on these inception impact assessments and will participate in the public consultations that close in September. One of our members, Dora Palfi, co-founder of imagiLabs, also participated in a panel discussion related to competition and the DSA. Earlier in June, Germany and France launched the Gaia-X initiative to support a European cloud infrastructure.
July: Vestager and German Presidency Moving Full Speed Ahead on Digital Regulation
In July, Germany took over the presidency of the Council of the European Union. The German Presidency has announced “strengthening the digital sovereignty of the EU” as one of its priorities. The Germans will likely focus their digital and tech policy efforts on promoting the Gaia-X initiative, re-examining the ePrivacy and digital tax initiatives, as well as pushing forward the legislation for common European data spaces.
Just last week, on 12 July, the Platform-to-Business regulation entered into force, and we will be monitoring its impact on the app economy over the remainder of the year. The same week, in its decision on the so-called Schrems II case, the European Court of Justice invalidated the U.S.-EU Privacy Shield. The collapse of the Shield will disproportionately harm SMEs who rely on this mechanism for legal certainty in their cross-border data operations. We urged U.S. and European policymakers to swiftly negotiate a replacement to ensure the continued growth of the transatlantic data economy.
Important upcoming legislative developments expected for the second half of 2020:
A new, ex-ante competition tool (Q4)
The Digital Services Act (Q4)
A review of the Directive on Security of Network and Information Systems (NIS) (Q4)
A proposed legislative framework for the governance of common European data spaces (Q4)
A follow-up to the White Paper on Artificial Intelligence (Q1 2021)
Common chargers for mobile phones and similar devices (Q1 2021)
As you can tell, EU regulators have been quite busy, and they are not showing any signs of slowing down. The impact of these legislative proposals will be significant for the app economy and our members. We’ll make sure to keep you updated on these developments as we continue to work hard to make your voices heard in the debates to shape these policies. As always, please reach out to our membership team if you have questions. We love to hear from you!