On July 2, the European Commission unveiled new rules that enable accredited researchers to access internal data from very large online platforms (VLOPs) and very large online search engines (VLOSEs) within the European Union. This initiative aims to facilitate research into systemic risks associated with these platforms and the measures needed to mitigate them.

The delegated act on data access outlines the legal and technical modalities for how VLOPs and VLOSEs must share their data with accredited researchers. Additionally, the Commission announced the launch of a data access portal, which will allow researchers to gather information and communicate with platforms and national Digital Services Coordinators (DSCs) regarding their data access requests.

Researchers must first be accredited by a DSC. On June 27, the European Committee on Digital Services agreed to enhance cooperation among all DSCs to uniformly implement the control procedures for researchers and data access under the new mechanism.

To gain accreditation, researchers must demonstrate affiliation with a research organization, independence from commercial interests, expertise in relevant fields, and compliance with data security and confidentiality requirements. The Luxembourg competition authority, acting as the DSC, will hold information sessions for researchers starting in September.

The European Parliament and Council now have three months to review the new rules, which will come into effect following this period and their publication in the Official Journal. Afterward, the first researchers will be able to submit their requests for access to the internal data of the platforms.

The Digital Services Act (DSA) primarily aims to ensure a safe and responsible online environment. It imposes specific obligations on online intermediary services, with additional requirements for very large platforms that reach over 10% of the 450 million consumers in Europe. As a DSC, the Luxembourg competition authority oversees compliance with the obligations imposed on approximately 195 intermediary service providers established in Luxembourg that fall under the DSA. The European Commission retains authority to monitor compliance specifically for very large platforms and search engines.