In recent years, creating mechanisms to protect the digital space from illegal content and establishing rules for transparency and accountability of digital platforms have been the focus of the European administration. The Digital Services Act (DSA) has emerged as the most ambitious regulation globally, aimed at safeguarding the fundamental rights of digital users. Alongside the Digital Markets Act (DMA), DSA is part of Digital Services Package, with the primary objective of ensuring user protection.
In short, the DSA seeks to establish a comprehensive framework for online responsibility, reinforcing the key principles of the e-Commerce Directive and outline clear, proportionate, and graduated obligations for online service providers to address illegal activities in the digital space.
The Western Balkan countries, still in the EU accession process, are aligning their legislation with the European standards, including regulations governing the digital space. As part of the accession process, these countries are expected to harmonize their national laws with the provisions covered by the DSA and DMA.
However, aligning legislation in this area should not only be a requirement imposed by the EU. At the heart of these reforms should be the citizens, who across the region remain significantly exposed to illegal and malign online content.
One concrete example of the challenges citizens in the Western Balkans face in the digital space is the rampant online fraud and scams that exploit weak regulatory oversight. Phishing schemes, fake online stores, and fraudulent investment platforms frequently target users, often impersonating well-known companies or even state institutions. In Serbia and Montenegro, online loan scams promising quick cash without credit checks have defrauded thousands, with little to no intervention from digital platforms or authorities. Lack of mechanisms for reporting illegal content is a specially serious cause for concern, poignantly illustrated by an example from Bosnia and Herzegovina, where a brutal murder was livestreamed and allowed to circulate over a number of social media networks for several hours before being taken down.
A particular problem lies in the fact that the Western Balkans region is not a priority for the very large online platforms, which show little interest in building systemic mechanisms for reporting and responding to illegal content, nor are they willing to take accountability for allowing and incentivizing dissemination and other harmful content.
However, regulating online content comes with significant risks, particularly in countries facing serious challenges in the areas of the rule of law, democracy, and media freedom, as is the case with the countries of the Western Balkans. Aligning with European legislation in this field might be the region’s best chance at ensuring online safety and protection of fundamental digital rights for its citizens, but at the same time presents a considerable challenge and has the potential to negatively impact freedom of expression.
It would not be the first time that governments in the region use alignment with European legislation as a pretext for introducing undemocratic practices that diverge from the spirit of European rules. Past experiences with harmonizing domestic laws with European legislations, such as the General Data Protection (GDPR), demonstrate how substantial and real these risks are. The implementation of GDPR has revealed numerous practical issues, and in many cases, data protection laws have not led to better safeguards for personal data or prevented further abuses.
What needs to be ensured?
For these reasons, it is essential for the European institutions to closely oversee and monitor the national legislation adopted by the countries of the region to facilitate the implementation of DSA. This means that the scope of national laws enabling the application of the DSA must strictly adhere to its principles of systemic and multistakeholder approach to online platforms regulation. Avoiding transitional measures that could be exploited to undermine fundamental rights or democratic processes – under the guise of information control or censorship of critical voices online – is of huge importance.
Ensuring strong EU-level support for the effective alignment and subsequent implementation of the DSA in the Western Balkans region has been identified as key by the civil society’s regional advocacy efforts implemented under the IGNITA initiative.
In particular, to mitigate the risks associated with aligning with the DSA, European institutions must take an active role in the alignment process, not only during the adoption of laws but also throughout their implementation. The EU should incorporate this area into its existing accession instruments, with clear timelines to ensure that the alignment process with the DSA remains under strict oversight.
The EU must also encourage governments in the region to collaborate and support the regional approach to alignment, particularly concerning Very Large Online Platforms and Search Engines (VLOPs and VLOSEs). A harmonized approach would foster closer regional integration, establish a unified regional market for e-Commerce, and enhance the predictability of the business environment while ensuring better protection for users and consumers. Without such encouragement, there is a significant risk that divergent national laws could result in fragmented and inconsistent regulatory frameworks, undermining the integration of candidate countries into the EU Single Market.
To motivate governments of the region to ensure a proper, human-rights based approach to DSA alignment, European institutions should create an environment that supports the indirect benefits and effects of DSA, even before formal EU membership. This approach could significantly discourage national authorities from adopting restrictive, content-based regulations for online platforms and lay a solid foundation for the full implementation of the DSA after accession. This could be achieved by creating a mechanism for a meaningful engagement of non-EU stakeholders in the DSA implementation and enforcement, for instance by involving national authorities from the region in EU-level mechanisms for cooperation and information exchange. At the same time, it would provide a platform for candidate countries’ stakeholders to engage directly with the large online platforms, which often show little interest in cooperation with the countries from the region.
Red lines do exist
It is crucial for the EU to ensure the involvement of non-state actors, such as civil society organizations and the expert community, in the dialogue about the implementation of DSA. They can provide local expertise and evidence in risk assessment, as well as understanding of the context of countries of the region.
Their active involvement in the process of drafting the national DSA-enabling legislation is crucial, too, in order to prevent the risk of adopting solutions that might negatively impact freedom of expression. It is particularly important to ensure that the alignment with the DSA focuses on regulating content management processes rather than directly regulating content, such as hate speech or specific actors like online media.
In order to minimize such risks, the scope of alignment should be meaningful enough to make a difference, yet proportionate and enforceable to allow for the proper application of DSA principles. Several key measures that should be implemented for this purpose include: appointing legal representatives for online platforms operating in the region; applying the same safeguards against illegal content as in the EU, including trusted flaggers, access to data for research purposes, transparency requirements and protection of minors.
Another area in which the EU could provide its support to effective alignment is by encouraging the VLOPs to extend their risk mitigation obligations to some of the most pressing risks in the region, such as disinformation and other negative effects on democratic and electoral processes, for example through compliance with commitments under the Code of Practice on Disinformation, soon to be converted into the Code of Conduct under the DSA. Again, measures such as these might prevent the potential abuse of national regulation of large online platforms, especially in a context that does not have the regulatory infrastructure and capacities to support it.
The introduction of the Digital Services Act (DSA) in the Western Balkans represents a critical step toward aligning the region with European standards for a safer and more accountable digital space. However, to ensure its successful implementation, transparency and the regional approach are essential.
Transparent alignment processes, closely monitored by European institutions and CSOs, can mitigate risks of misuse while protecting fundamental freedoms and democratic values. A coordinated regional approach will not only streamline regulatory frameworks but also strengthen cooperation among governments, enhance user protection, and foster integration into the EU Single Market. By prioritizing these principles, the Western Balkans can effectively balance digital transformation with safeguarding human rights and media freedoms.