Germany: Law (DDG) implementing Digital Services Act in Germany designating competent authorities and digital services coordinator

On 22 December 2023, the draft Act on Digital Services implementing Regulation (EU) 2022/2065 (Digital Services Act) and designating the Federal Network Agency as a digital services coordinator was introduced to the lower house of the German parliament, Bundestag. The draft Act would establish the national framework required to enforce the Digital Services Act in Germany, including the designation of competent authorities, procedural rules, and sanctioning powers. It would assign the Federal Network Agency responsibility for coordinating supervision of intermediary services, monitoring compliance with the Digital Services Act, and imposing administrative fines where infringements occur. The Act would apply to providers of intermediary services established in Germany, including hosting services, online platforms, and online search engines, and would require providers to maintain mechanisms to address illegal content and to comply with transparency obligations. The draft Act would also provide for complaints handling, cooperation with the European Commission in supervision of very large online platforms and very large online search engines, and procedures for recognising trusted flaggers.