Challenges and efforts to align the Digital Services Act with Albanian legislation

Civil society organizations, journalists, researchers, and activists held a joint advocacy position on Tuesday regarding the legislative alignment of the Digital Services Act (DSA) in Albania and the Western Balkans, with a focus on respect for digital rights, freedom of expression, governance of the law, and the involvement of civil society in consultation processes.

The Institute for Democracy and Mediation (IDM) in Tirana organized a roundtable discussion with civil society organizations, journalists, researchers, activists and fact-checkers on Tuesday morning to discuss the prospect of harmonization of the EU Digital Services Act (DSA). in Albania and the Western Balkans.

The purpose of this meeting was to encourage dialogue on digital rights and to engage civil society actors in this process, to be included in the consultations during the drafting of the law and to contribute to its implementation and monitoring.

"Currently, Albania does not have specific requirements for the transparency and accountability of online platforms and there is limited progress towards the alignment of legislation with DSA, while the digitization process is centered around state agencies", said Megi Reçi, researcher at IDM.

This meeting was part of the initiative led by Partners for Democratic Change Serbia, with the financial support of Open Society Foundations Western Balkans.

During the meeting, the importance and impact of the Digital Services Act (DSA) on the work of the actors involved was also emphasized, as well as the challenges related to the existing limited capacities for its implementation, the need to guarantee the institutional independence of the National Coordinator of Digital Services , the complexity of the implementation of this act in small digital markets, as well as concerns regarding the violation of freedom of expression and the protection of personal data.

"DSA should focus on regulating content governance processes, not directly controlling content such as hate speech, disinformation, or online media. Such an approach respects freedom of expression and avoids censorship", said Reçi.

"DSA does not aim to reduce hate speech, misinformation, or regulate online media, but aims to guarantee safe, clear and accountable content governance processes", she added on the purpose of this act.

The experts emphasized the essential role that civil society plays in the process of alignment with the DSA, and added that its involvement should be actively encouraged.

"A potential risk is the limited impact of civil society actors on digitization and cyber security policies, as a result of lukewarm public consultations and insufficient technical capacities of civil society groups", Reçi added.

Other potential risks related to the implementation of the DSA legislation in Albania are related to the lack of institutional independence and the influence of the government.

"The independence of the institutions in the implementation of the DSA can be compromised, since they can be affected by the influence of the executive power and the low supervision of the parliament", said the IDM researcher during her speech.

Concerns are also raised about the preservation of freedom of expression and freedom of the media, considering possible political interference that always tries to turn the discussion on cyber security in their favor and control over the online media.

According to experts, platforms operating in the region should appoint legal representatives or dedicated contact points in each country to guarantee effective communication and compliance with local regulations./BIRN