EU plans major staff boost for digital rules
Despite launching multiple probes under the Digital Services Act, the EU has yet to close any, prompting a recruitment push for its enforcement team.
The European Commission is ramping up enforcement of its Digital Services Act (DSA) by hiring 60 more staff to support ongoing investigations into major tech platforms. Despite beginning probes into companies such as X, Meta, TikTok, AliExpress and Temu since December 2023, none have concluded.
The Commission currently has 127 employees working on the DSA and aims to reach 200 by year’s end. Applications for the new roles, including legal experts, policy officers, and data scientists, remain open until 10 May.
The DSA, which came into full effect in February last year, applies to all online platforms in the EU. However, the 25 largest platforms, those with over 45 million monthly users like Google, Amazon, and Shein, fall under the direct supervision of the Commission instead of national regulators.
The most advanced case is against X, with early findings pointing to a lack of transparency and accountability.
The law has drawn criticism from the current Republican-led US government, which views it as discriminatory. Brendan Carr of the US Federal Communications Commission called the DSA ‘an attack on free speech,’ accusing the EU of unfairly targeting American companies.
In response, EU Tech Commissioner Henna Virkkunen insisted the rules are fair, applying equally to platforms from Europe, the US, and China.
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