Fundamental Rights & Platform Responsibility : An Analysis of Platform Obligations under the DMA and DSA in light of Articles 7, 8, 11 and 47 of the EU Charter

Sammanfattning

This thesis analyses how selected obligations under the Digital Services Act (DSA) and the Digital Markets Act (DMA) interact with the protection of fundamental rights within the EU legal order. The study has its focus on Article 17 of the DSA and Articles 6(10) and 6(12) of the DMA in light of Articles 7, 8, 11 and 47 of the EU Charter. Through a EU law and legal dogmatic method, the analysis examines whether the chosen obligations operate as legal safeguards in protection of the fundamental rights within digital platform governance. It argues that Article 17 DSA may enhance freedom of expression and procedural protection by rendering content moderation decisions more reviewable and transparent. Further, Article 6(10) DMA may advance fairness within digital markets, however, it also gives rise to tensions with personal data and privacy protection. Article 6(12) DMA tackles platform dependency by requiring fair, reasonable and non discriminatory (FRAND) access terms, although the effectiveness is rather limited due to the open ended nature of the standard. The analysis finds that the DSA and DMA do contribute to the protection of fundamental rights, yet it does not provide safeguards to an extent where the protection is self-sufficient without exception.