A dataset on EU legislation for the digital world

Digital laws

The EU has enacted an extensive body of digital legislation, mostly under the Digital Agenda and the Digital Single Market (DSM) initiatives. In the current legislative term, major new measures relevant to digitalisation, including the Digital Markets Act (DMA), the Digital Services Act (DSA), the Data Act, the Artificial Intelligence Act (AI Act), the Data Governance Act (DGA), the European Health Data Space (EHDS), an update to the regulation on electronic identification and trust services (eIDAS 2) and a measure to strengthen the cybersecurity of critical infrastructure (NIS2), have all either been enacted or are in the legislative process with prospects of being enacted in the coming months.

The Overview of EU Legislation in the Digital Sector (Table 1) benefits from prior work. In particular, De Streel and Hocepied (2019) in a report on legal characteristics of the Digital Single Market (DSM) provided a workable taxonomy, which Marcus et al (2019) used as a basis for assessing the economic results of the same measures. The European Parliament’s Special Committee on AI in the Digital Age (AIDA) published a similar taxonomy in 2022 as part of Codagnone et al (2022).

Sources, limitations and disclaimers

Information in this dataset is accurate to the best of the authors’ knowledge. Predictions of when legislation might be enacted are uncertain because of the nature of the legislative process.

Much of the information in our tables, especially information about measures that have already been enacted, is based on standard, publicly available sources. When we provide information about planned initiatives, the information is often based on official pronouncements of the European institutions, such as European Commission work programmes or State of the European Union addresses. Our assessment of planned initiatives also reflects first-hand knowledge, information from colleagues and other sources.

In case of comments or requests, please contact us at [email protected]. We welcome input from knowledgeable stakeholders.

Understanding the tables in this dataset

Table 1 provides an overview of legislative measures enacted, or which may possibly be enacted during the current legislative session, roughly following the taxonomy of de Streel and Hocepied (2019). We classify the measures depending on whether they primarily relate to: (1) research and innovation; (2) industrial policy; (3) connectivity; (4) data and privacy; (5) cybersecurity; (6) law enforcement; (7) trust and safety; (8) e-commerce and consumer protection; (9) competition, (10) IPR and media; and (11) finance. We distinguish among (a) measures that have been enacted, (b) those that are in the legislative process, and (c) initiatives that have been announced, but that are not yet formally in the legislative process.

To find the detailed text of legislation that has been enacted or negotiated, please follow the links in the dataset.

For each of the five measures that the authors deem to be the most important among those introduced in each of the years 2020 through 2023, Figures 1 to 4 indicate where they are in the legislative process, and when they are likely to be enacted (if at all). The date of submission by the Commission, the dates on which the Parliament began and completed negotiations, the dates on which the trilogue began and ended, and the date on which the measure was published in the Official Journal are all shown.

Table 2 provides a list and taxonomy of the number of governmental and non-governmental bodies that in one way or another contribute to the implementation and enforcement of EU legislative measures that relate to digitalisation. Only EU bodies that have a role in implementing EU law relevant to digital services are included. Member state implementation bodies are not shown, nor are any expert groups that serve solely to provide the European Commission with high-level input and advice with the drafting of delegated or implementing acts. The thematic taxonomy is the same as that of Table 1. In Table 2, we distinguish between (1) EU institutions, (2) executive agencies, (3) decentralised agencies, (4) governing boards, (5) independent bodies, (6) advisory bodies, (7) networks of member states, and (8) European standardisation organisations (ESOs).

Noteworthy changes since the July 2023 version of this dataset

In the July version of this dataset, we identified the most important legislative files for the 2019-2024 legislative term as: (1) the Digital Markets Act (DMA), (2) the Digital Services Act (DSA), (3) the Data Act and (4) the Artificial Intelligence Act (AI Act). This is still the view of the authors.

The DMA and DSA have been enacted. Initial designations of DMA gatekeepers and DSA Very Large Online Platforms (VLOPs) and Very Large Search Engines (VLSEs) have been made. For the purposes of the DMA, these are the only firms to which the new rules apply; for the DSA, they are the firms subject to the most intensive of the new rules.

The trilogue negotiations on the Data Act took place between April and June 2023. Political Agreement has been reached. The publication of the final law in the Official Journal of the European Union is expected to take place in the coming months.

The Parliament agreed its position on the AI Act in June 2023. The measure is now in trilogue negotiations between the Parliament and the Council. There is strong interest in reaching a political deal by December 2023, but the issues are complex, and negotiations are likely to be intense.

The European Commission previously announced its intention to submit a legislative proposal for a measure that would oblige large content and application providers (CAPs) to contribute to the deployment of high-speed broadband networks in the EU. This did not happen, and it is now clear that it will not happen during the current legislative session. The Commission’s 2024 Work Programme (European Commission, 2023) commits to “prepare the ground for possible policy and regulatory actions regarding Digital Networks and infrastructure, notably to facilitate cross-border infrastructure operators in the Single Market, accelerate deployment of technologies and attract more capital into networks.” Given the conspicuous lack of stakeholder and member state consensus on the Commission’s proposals along these lines to date, it is highly speculative what, if anything, will actually be proposed.