ADL #66: Digital Innovation and How to Love Your Business
5 Ways to Show Your Digital Business Some Legal Love
Another Type of Intro:
A new year starts. Yes, the newsletter year. And what better moment to do it than close to Valentine’s Day, a day of love? In 10 days' time, it is also going to be the Romanian Day of Love - Dragobete. So here’s for the month of love I would say!
You are probably wondering why this newsletter is written in English. You observed well. After two years of Artizan de Legal and 65 editions issued, I took a turn towards expanding the base of readers to all English speakers. Why? Because English is the business language and there are many digital entrepreneurs out there who speak English, either as their first language or their second. And if I can make it so that legal information reaches more people, I choose to do just that. Everyone deserves to know how to protect their business, how to apply the law or just be informed of their risks.
In Romania, we have more and more foreigners joining the business world, and Europe is one of the main business pools of the world.
So here you have it. I will write in English from now on, in longer formats, so I hope you will find it still useful and stimulating. Of course, you always have the option of unsubscribing (yes, we are GDPR compliant) if this is something that does not fit you anymore.
The newsletter will keep its name - Artizan de Legal - as it represents me, my life and my business in a very accurate way. A mix of Romanian and English, a mix of traditional and international, a mix of routine and adventure, a mix of artisan and lawyer.
As I also love what I am doing and my business, in this first issue of 2025 I will talk about how to love your business, do business, but remain compliant at the same time.
In this number, I will talk about:
❤️ Quick Tips : 5 Ways to Show Your Digital Business Some Legal Love (TL;DR about Digital Service Act, if you don’t have time to read it all)
🫂 Embracing the Digital Services Act: What Entrepreneurs Need to Know (longer read)
🍫 Let’s Make Compliance Sweet: How Can I Support You?
🌹 Roses Are Red, Contracts Are Due: Legal Updates Just for You!
❤️ Quick Tips: 5 Ways to Show Your Digital Business Some Legal Love
Make Your Terms & Conditions Crystal Clear 📝
Ensure your Terms & Conditions are easy to understand, publicly accessible, and machine-readable. Be transparent about content moderation policies, automated decision-making, and complaint-handling procedures. If your platform sells minors, explain the rules in a way they can quickly grasp. (📌 DSA Article 14)Appoint a Legal Representative if You Operate in the EU 🌍
If your business offers services in the EU but is not based there, you must designate a legal representative in a Member State where you operate. They’ll act as your official point of contact for compliance matters. Make sure their details are publicly available. (📌 DSA Article 13)Set Up a Direct Contact for Authorities & Users 📞
Your business must have two points of contact—one for government authorities (for compliance and enforcement) and one for your users (to reach you in a user-friendly manner). Keep this contact info public, up to date, and available in the official EU language of your operating country. (📌 DSA Articles 11 & 12)Keep Users Informed About Content Moderation Decisions ⚖️
If you remove or restrict content, provide a clear explanation to the affected user. This should include the reason for the restriction, whether automated tools were involved, and what options the user has for redress. Transparency builds trust and ensures compliance with EU regulations. (📌 DSA Article 17)
Have a Solid Notice & Action System for Illegal Content 🚨
Set up an easy-to-use system for users to report illegal content, providing clear submission guidelines and acknowledgement of notices. Decisions must be objective, timely, and transparent. If your platform restricts content, provide users with a clear statement of reasons and redress options. (📌 DSA Articles 16 & 17)
🍫Let’s Make Compliance Sweet: How Can I Support You?
Legally Remote started as my personal law office - Ana-Maria Draganuta-Briard - Law Office. Over time, it has evolved into something much bigger: a hub of legal advice and resources for digital entrepreneurs who want to grow their businesses and protect their dreams.
Today, Legally Remote is a team of dedicated experts, each contributing to help bring this vision to life.
Here’s how we can support you:
Legal consultations. Get clarity on your business’s current standing, the compliance rules you need to follow, or whether a large platform is treating your company fairly. We can also guide you on tax optimization, digital nomad laws, consumer rights, and building secure client relationships. Moreover, if you’re considering legal action or just want to make sure you're on the right track, a consultation can give you the clarity and direction you need.
The Protected Freelancer Package. Includes a professionally tailored contract template designed for service providers and a 90-minute, one-on-one session with a legal expert who understands your challenges.
Legal Retainer Service. Receive consistent, reliable, tech-savvy legal support for your business throughout the year.
Custom Solutions From corporate guidance to e-commerce compliance, trademark protection, and strategies for global expansion, we create personalized solutions for digital entrepreneurs to help your business succeed in the digital landscape.
Not sure what you need? Book a free 20' intro call, and let’s figure it out together!
🫂 Embracing the Digital Services Act: What Entrepreneurs Need to Know
What you first need to know as an entrepreneur is that the Digital Service Act is a European Regulation, which means that it applies directly to the member states' jurisdiction. Member States do not need to adopt another law to make the Digital Service Act applicable to their country.
What does it mean to you? If you fit into the category of subjects of this European Regulation named as Digital Service Act, you need to comply with its rules even if your business is registered outside of the European Union.
Who must apply the rules adopted in the Regulation?
The Regulation applies to providers of intermediary services and, in particular, intermediary services consisting of services known as ‘mere conduit’, ‘caching’ and ‘hosting’ services (such as online platforms).
It also applies to certain providers of intermediary services (intermediate in relation to services that may or may not be provided by electronic means), such as remote information technology services, shopping platforms (see Vestiaire Collective, Emag), transport (such as BlaBlaCar), accommodation (such as Airbnb or Booking) or delivery services (such as Glovo or Deliveroo).
It does not apply to:
Products or services that are sold through those platforms of intermediation
Intermediary service which constitutes an integral part of another service which is not an intermediary service
All providers of intermediary services, irrespective of their place of establishment or their location, insofar as they offer services in the Union, as evidenced by a substantial connection to the Union.
Hence, in simpler words, if you have an intermediary platform, where on one side you onboard sellers and on the other side you onboard buyers, and you offer this service in the European Union, even if you are registered in the US, Canada, Japan, Thailand, etc., you must verify your compliance under the Digital Service Act.
It is true that the Regulation imposes many responsibilities on large and very large companies and online platforms (article 19 - article 43 of the Regulation).
However, this is only half-true.
The Regulation also treats many obligations and standards for the rest of the companies, irrespective of their size.
So, let’s see - what are the provisions applicable to ALL providers of intermediary services?
Designated Points of Contact Under the DSA
Under Article 11 of the DSA, named Points of Contact for Authorities, intermediary service providers are required to establish a dedicated electronic point of contact to facilitate direct communication with authorities. This contact information must be publicly available, easily accessible, and regularly updated.
Additionally, providers must specify the languages in which communication is available, ensuring that at least one official language of the Member State where they are based is included.
Similarly, Article 12 mandates that providers establish a designated contact point for clients, allowing them to communicate efficiently and in a user-friendly manner. This communication channel must not rely solely on automated tools, ensuring that users can engage effectively when needed. Just like the contact point for authorities, this information must be public, easily accessible, and kept up to date.
Legal Representatives Under the DSA: Compliance Requirements for Non-EU Providers
What happens with the intermediary providers that are not established in the EU but sell their services to the EU market?
Article 13 of the DSA, named Legal Representatives, helps us with it, indicating that:
Non-EU providers offering services in the EU must appoint a legal representative in one of the Member States where they operate.
Authorities can address the representative for compliance and enforcement and must have the necessary authority and resources for cooperation.
On the other hand, the representative can be held liable for non-compliance. Hence, there must be strong cooperation between the provider and the legal representative.
Providers must notify and publish details of their representatives.
In practical compliance practice terms, this means the intermediary platforms could have either all the information in the footer or, in their Legal section, to add (besides T&C, Privacy Policy, Cookie Policy and Retention of Data Policy) Information for the Points of Contact under DSA where to indicate who is the point of contact for authorities and public or their Legal representative.
Clear and Transparent Terms and Conditions
Article 14 of the DSA provides clear information on what intermediary service providers need to add in their Terms and Conditions, in addition to the consumer protection rules. Hence:
Providers must clearly state any restrictions on the use of their services, including content moderation policies, automated decision-making, and complaint-handling procedures.
Terms must be in plain language, publicly accessible, and machine-readable.
Significant changes must be communicated to users.
Services primarily used by minors must explain rules in a way minors can understand.
The enforcement of restrictions must be objective, and fundamental rights must be respected.
Very large online platforms and search engines (VLOPs and VLSEs) must provide a CLEAR SUMMARY of their terms and conditions in all Member States' official languages.
Transparency and Responsibility in Online Services
Under Article 15, intermediary service providers must release annual reports on their content moderation activities. These reports must include details like the number of removal orders they’ve received from authorities, the notices they’ve received and the actions they’ve taken, the use of automated tools for moderation and the safeguards in place to protect users, as well as statistics on complaints and how they’ve been resolved.
However, micro and small businesses are exempt from these reporting obligations, unless they are very large platforms. Additionally, the Commission has established standardized formats for these reports.
The reporting must be made yearly, while providers of very large online platforms and of very large online search engines shall publish their transparency reports at least every six months The reports must be kept for a period of 5 years.
User-Friendly Mechanisms for Reporting Illegal Content
Article 16 of the DSA outlines the responsibility of hosting service providers to have an electronic system in place where users can report illegal content. These notices must be detailed, providing:
a sufficiently substantiated reasoning on why the content is believed to be illegal;
its location (such as a URL);
the contact information of the person submitting the notice;
a statement confirming the bona fide belief of the individual or entity submitting the notice that the information and allegations contained therein are accurate and complete.
The intermediary service provider must acknowledge receipt of the notice and inform the submitter of the decision made about the content. The decisions should be made promptly, objectively, and transparently, with clear information about whether automated tools were used.
Clear Justifications for Content Restrictions
Article 17 of the DSA requires providers of hosting services to respond with a clear and specific explanation to users whose content or accounts have been restricted. This explanation must include details on:
what restriction was applied;
the facts and circumstances relied on in taking the decision, including, where relevant, information on whether the decision was taken pursuant to a submitted notice or based on voluntary own-initiative investigations and, where strictly necessary, the identity of the notifier;
whether automated tools were used;
where the decision concerns allegedly illegal content, a reference to the legal ground relied on AND explanations as to why the information is considered to be illegal content on that ground; and
where the decision is based on the alleged incompatibility of the information with the terms and conditions of the provider of hosting services, a reference to the contractual ground relied on AND explanations as to why the information is considered to be incompatible with that ground;
what options the user has for redress.
Additionally, hosting service providers must ensure that the information they provide under this Article is clear, easily understandable, and as precise and specific as reasonably possible given the circumstances. In particular, the information should enable the affected user to exercise their options for redress effectively.
YouTube should revise its policy and the information it provides to European users when it comes to dispute resolution mechanisms that it imposes in case of content restrictions.
In a recent case of mine (and on the internet, there are a lot of examples of such), a lot of abuses were made on YouTube related to the copyright strikes because there are no sufficient explanations and ground provided by YouTube when it limits the right of a creator to stay on the platform. This can lead to an arbitrary decision of removal from the platform, which is in breach of the DSA.
🌹 Roses Are Red, Contracts Are Due: Legal Updates Just for You!
Romanian Digital Services Coordinators is the National Authority for Management and Regulation in Communications (ANCOM), which can be contacted here.
ANCOM received in 2024 a number of 79 notifications regarding this field. Of these, 68 concerned illegal content online, and 11 complaints concerned a possible non-compliance with the Digital Services Regulation.
On 20 January 2025, the revised Code of conduct on countering illegal hate speech online + (the ‘Code of conduct+’) was integrated into the regulatory framework of the Digital Services Act (DSA).
The Commission has published a new open-source software package to help streamline the analysis of the data in the Digital Services Act (DSA) Transparency Database.
Commission addresses additional investigatory measures to X (former Twitter) in the ongoing proceedings under the Digital Services Act.
Have some thoughts?
Reply to this email and let’s chat! I’m open to constructive criticism and new and brave ideas.
See you soon! The next issue is on February 27.