The European Commission plans to recruit 60 new employees for its Digital Services Act (DSA) enforcement team, because all investigations initiated against major tech companies since December 2023 remain unresolved.
The Commission stated that they intend to hire individuals with various backgrounds, including legal experts, policymakers, data scientists, and researchers, and will keep the application process open until May 10th.
In a
report
Published last month, the Commission stated that they employed 51 personnel for 2024 to focus on the DSA project. However, they acknowledged that “the recruitment process was more time-consuming than anticipated, leading to fewer full-time positions filled over the year compared to what had been projected.”
A representative from the Commission mentioned that currently, there are 127 employees dedicated to the DSA project.
“The newly hired personnel are intended to assist with the current caseloads and overall implementation of the DSA,” the spokesperson noted.
The objective is to reach 200 by the conclusion of this year.
Investigations
Last February, the DSA was implemented across all online platforms within the European Union.
The oversight falls upon the Commission for the 25 biggest platforms—those averaging over 45 million monthly users such as Google, Amazon, Meta, Shein, and X. Platforms beneath this user threshold continue under the jurisdiction of individual member states.
Following the implementation of the Digital Services Act (DSA), the Commission has initiated inquiries into X, formerly known as Twitter, along with Meta’s platforms Facebook and Instagram, TikTok, AliExpress, and Temu. All these investigations remain open at present.
The most advanced
investigation
is being criticized for allegedly lacking transparency and accountability standards, as initial findings released in July indicated.
The new Republican administration in the U.S., which assumed power in January, has taken issue with what they characterize as the detrimental effects of the European Union’s regulations on online platforms and overall tech-related laws. They view these measures as discriminatory non-tariff obstacles to trade.
Brendan Carr, who serves as the chairperson of the Federal Communications Commission
told
At an event during the Mobile World Congress in February, they stated that the DSA represents “a threat to freedom of expression.”
In an
interview
Alongside Euronews, EU Tech Commissioner Henna Virkkunen stated that the digital regulations are “equitable” as they encompass all platforms equally.
“We apply the same regulations to European firms, American firms, and Chinese firms,” she stated.