The Czech Telecommunications Authority (CTU) has been tasked with the role of national coordinator for digital services. The concept, which aims to ensure unified oversight of new European regulations, was approved by the government on Wednesday. The CTU already has competencies in some areas of digital services, and its scope will expand in the future to include supervision of regulations on digital services, part of the data management regulation, and data regulation.
The Ministry of Industry and Trade spokesperson, Marek Vosahlik, said earlier this week that the CTU’s appointment would provide unified oversight of European digital regulations and enhance legal certainty in the market.
“As a digital coordinator under the Digital Services Act (DSA), after the transposition norm is approved, the CTU will, for example, grant the status of trusted notifiers or authorized researchers who will be able to examine the algorithms of digital platforms to interested parties who meet the legal requirements,” he said.
He added that no authority in the Czech Republic is responsible for the digital or data economy, except for some partial aspects, such as the Office for Personal Data Protection from personal data protection perspective.
According to the Chairman of the CTU Board, Marek Ebert, the authority is actively preparing for its role as coordinator. “Our goal will be to systematically map the Czech market of intermediary service providers and engage in active discussions with them in the first step,” he said.
In the first phase, the authority intends to focus on education. “We plan to hold a meeting with representatives of the sector soon, at which we will provide space for mutual debate on the optimal setting of supervision,” Ebert added.
The DSA, together with the revised Network and Information Systems Security Directive (NIS2) and the Digital Markets Act (DMA), was presented by the European Commission in 2019. According to some experts, the DSA will tighten rules for online advertising and responsibility for removing illegal and harmful (misleading) content online. New digital regulations will also bring new obligations in human resources and IT.