EDPS Proposes Clearinghouse for Coordinating Enforcement of EU Digital Laws
Better cross-regulatory cooperation is needed to avoid inconsistent application of European digital laws, the European Data Protection Supervisor (EDPS) said Wednesday. The office published a plan for Digital Clearinghouse 2.0, which proposes a consistent, coherent enforcement approach for EU laws regulating digital markets.
Sign up for a free preview to unlock the rest of this article
The EDPS urged the European Commission to consider proposing legislation to facilitate such cooperation, and closely monitor how laws are being applied to determine whether legislation is needed to clarify their governance structures.
"The digital regulatory landscape is no longer only about data protection, consumer protection and competition law," the EDPS wrote: The EU has also adopted other key laws, such as the Digital Governance Act, Digital Markets Act, Digital Services Act, Data Act and the AI Act. These measures highlight the importance of personal data processing in today's economy, and that it's more important than ever to safeguard fundamental rights, the note said. But while they give the EU, member countries and relevant authorities new tools for promoting a sustainable and rights-based economy, more cross-regulatory coordination is needed to avoid a patchwork of legal requirements, the EDPS said.
It set out the following work areas: (1) Coherent application of EU law in the digital economy; (2) Cross-regulatory cooperation among applicable regulators; (3) The necessity to "uphold data protection as the backbone of this digital regulatory framework."
Creating Digital Clearinghouse 2.0, a forum where regulators can identify areas of cross-regulatory concerns and exchange knowledge and resources, will help achieve these three initiatives, EDPS said.