15 April 2024, Brussels, Belgium – DOT Europe welcomes the Louvain-la-Neuve Declaration on promoting a safer, responsible and trustworthy online environment by EU Member States on 12 April. DOT Europe urges Member States to ensure enforcement activities and guidance for industry are aligned to ensure a level playing field in the EU single market.
“Focusing on the enforcement of the rules is certainly positive. However, this needs to happen in a harmonized fashion to avoid any fragmentation in the digital single market. The online industry wants to do its part in protecting users, especially young and vulnerable ones. The key to a successful application of new rules lies in an open and constructive dialogue between stakeholders and authorities.” said Constantin Gissler, Director General of DOT Europe.
DOT Europe shares the Belgian Presidency’s objective to improve the online experience of all users and ensure the experience is age-appropriate. We are ready to provide our perspective on how to make the Internet safer, building on the tools companies have been developing for many years.
“Recent initiatives by several Member States risk splintering the single market. This is why the industry welcomes calls for harmonized technical solutions on age assurance. In the development of such solutions industry involvement is a prerequisite, which has so far not been the case unfortunately.” said Constantin Gissler, Director General of DOT Europe.
ENDS
For more information from DOT Europe contact:
+32(0) 472 26 83 02
Notes to the editor:
DOT Europe is the voice of the leading internet companies in Europe. DOT Europe’s mission is to develop ideas and support policy initiatives that foster an innovative, open and safe internet for Europe’s citizens and businesses. More information is available here: https://doteurope.eu/
DOT Europe represents 21 of the leading internet companies: Airbnb, Amazon EU, Apple, Discord, Dropbox, eBay, Etsy, Expedia Group, Google, Indeed, King, Meta, Microsoft, Mozilla, Nextdoor, OLX, Snap, Spotify, TikTok, Yahoo and X.
Its members produce and manage a variety of products, services and applications including browsers, entertainment platforms, social networks, marketplaces and review sites. More information is available here: https://doteurope.eu/members
