This conference will be held under a Hybrid Format. To ensure the health and safety of our speakers, attendees, sponsors and staff while maximising interaction amongst participants, in-person attendance at this event will be limited to 120 attendees.
There will be a significant in-person component to this event with demand likely to be high. If you are interested in participating in the conference in person we recommend that you apply for your spot as soon as possible. For those not attending on site, sessions will be live streamed to our events platform.
We will continue to monitor developments around the COVID-19 pandemic, follow recommendations regarding masks, social distancing, and sanitation set out by the venue and local authorities and may revise the capacity limit based on the advice received.
On 15 December 2020, the European Commission released its Digital Services Act (DSA) and Digital Markets Act (DMA) proposals. The DSA seeks to establish new rules for the digital economy to clarify the liability regime applicable to online intermediaries and to provide additional consumer and citizen protections, while the DMA introduces new obligations for platforms that are designated as gatekeepers, seeking to ensure a fair and open digital single market in Europe.
As significant steps in the legislative process for both proposals have recently been taken at both Parliament and Council level, the 3rd edition of Forum Europe’s DSA / DMA conference will examine the current state of the files, explore the compromises that have been reached, and discuss the best ways to find consensus during the interinstitutional negotiations on the pending issues regarding competition and innovation, the liability regime of platforms for online content, and the online sale of products.
The current state of the DSA and DMA files
The latest compromises and consensus around the liability framework for online platforms
The creation of a level playing field in the digital sector
Transatlantic cooperation in regulating the digital sphere
Cédric O, Secretary of State for the Digital Transition and Electronic Communications Secretary of State for the Digital Transition and Electronic Communications
Republic of France
*Pre-recorded intervention
Mona Keijzer, Secretary of State for Economic Affairs and Climate Policy, Government of the Netherlands Mona Keijzer began her career in January 1991 as a legal policy officer serving the municipality of Waterland. From 1993 to 1994 she was a management trainee at Leiden University. She then held legal positions at the Gelderland Environment Inspectorate and the municipality of Almere.
In 1998 Ms Keijzer became a member of the municipal executive and deputy mayor of the municipality of Waterland. In 2006 she began working as a lawyer and certified mediator at the law firm Abma Schreurs Advocaten en Notarissen in Purmerend. In 2007 she became a member of the Purmerend municipal executive.
In 2012 Ms Keijzer became a member of parliament for the Christian Democratic Alliance (CDA), with policy responsibility for chronic care for older and disabled people, and later became spokesperson for hospital care and asylum, migration and integration policy.
On 26 October 2017 Mona Keijzer was appointed State Secretary for Economic Affairs and Climate Policy in the third Rutte government.
Ms Keijzer was a member of the CDA strategic council (which in 2012 presented proposals to take the party in a new direction over the next 10 to 15 years), served on the general board of the North Holland CDA, and chaired the national CDA party committee for the 2010 municipal elections. She was also deputy chair of the committee for the 2002 municipal elections. From 1994 to 1998 she was a member of the Waterland municipal council for the CDA, spending the last two years as leader of the CDA group.
Other roles she has held include secretary of the board of the Wethoudersvereniging (the association of members of municipal executives), member of the general board of the Hoogheemraadschap Uitwaterende Sluizen (a water authority) and chair and member of the supervisory board of the Stichting CPOW (a group of Christian primary schools).
State Secretary for Economic Affairs and Climate Policy,
Government of the Netherlands
Marek Zagórski, Minister of Digital Affairs, Government of Poland Minister of Digital Affairs
Government of Poland
*Pre-recorded intervention
Christel Schaldemose, MEP, Rapporteur for the DSA Initiative, IMCO Committee, Euron Parliament Why really spend so much time on politics? I get that question often and often.
The answer is simple. I cant help it! I have been involved in politics since my youth because I want to help make a difference.
Politics is everywhere in our everyday lives. Why not help shape our laws and regulations in the direction I think is best?
Yes, and then I appreciate – quite basically – being able to make a difference for people. When we in the EU make laws and regulations, they apply to 500 million people. It makes sense to me.
My big political fad is the well-being of the citizens. They must have a much higher priority in the internal market: the products must be safe and healthy, the food must be of high quality and the cream and toys must be free of dangerous endocrine disruptors.
I am fighting for a greener climate and a cleaner environment. Better use of our resources and less air pollution. It is for the benefit of our planet and of you and me.
And then I work to ensure that ordinary workers have proper conditions when they work in Denmark. Whether you are from Denmark or from another EU country. Unfortunately, all too often we see foreign workers being exploited with poor pay and poor working conditions. It helps to put pressure on Danish workers, but also good Danish companies that do as they should.
In my opinion, there are enough who speak for the companies. Consumers are the small ones in the internal market and that is why I see it as my responsibility to fight for them.
Rapporteur for the DSA Initiative, IMCO Committee
European Parliament
Gerard de Graaf, Director for the Digital Transformation, DG CONNECT, European Commission Gerard de Graaf is Director for the Digital Transformation in Directorate-General “Communications Networks, Content & Technology” (DG CONNECT). In this capacity, he is responsible for a number of policies and instruments which are key to the development of the digital economy in Europe. In addition to overall Digital strategy and green ICT coordination, his directorate is inter alia responsible for e-commerce, digital platforms, standardisation, innovation policies, start-up policy, access to finance, ICT reforms as part of the European Semester, competition aspects and economic analysis of the digital economy (through the Digital Economy and Society Index – DESI).
Director for the Digital Transformation, DG CONNECT
European Commission
Werner Stengg, Cabinet Expert for Executive Vice President Margrethe Vestager, European Commission Doctoral studies at the Vienna University of Economics and Business Administration.
Professional experience within the European institutions:
Cabinet Expert for Executive Vice President Margrethe Vestager
European Commission
Prabhat Agarwal, Acting Head of Unit, E-Commerce and Online Platforms, DG CONNECT, EU Commission Prabhat Agarwal is currently working on the European Commission’s policies in the field of online platforms and electronic Commerce. He comes from a background of academic and industrial research, covering a broad range of fundamental science and commercial high-tech projects from a physicist’s perspective. He joined the European Commission in 2007, and has since then covered a variety of digital innovation and regulatory areas, as well as foresight. His particular interest lie at the intersection of science, technology, society, and the law.
Head of Unit, Digital Services and Platforms, DG CONNECT
European Commission
Irene Roche Laguna, Deputy Head of Unit, E-Commerce and Online Platforms, DG CONNECT, EU Commission Deputy Head of Unit, Digital Services and Platforms, DG CONNECT
European Commission
Evelyne Gebhardt, MEP, Shadow Rapporteur for the DMA Initiative, IMCO Committee, European Parliament Evelyne Gebhardt has been a Member of the European Parliament since her first election in 1994. Between 2017 and 2019 she held the position of Vice-President. She is the former coordinator for the Group of the Progressive Alliance of Socialists and Democrats in the Committee on the Internal Market and Consumer Protection (IMCO). As member of the IMCO committee she was inter alia rapporteur for the Services Directive and co-rapporteur for the Digital Single Market Act. Currently, she is serving as shadow rapporteur for the Digital Markets Act. Furthermore, she is a substitute member of the Legal Affairs Committee (JURI) as well as Vice-Chair to the Delegation for relations with the People’s Republic of China (D-CN).
Evelyne Gebhardt joined the German Social Democratic Party (SPD) in 1975. She holds the position of deputy chairwoman of the SPD’s national committee of Social Democratic Women (ASF). In 2008, she was appointed a member of the “Commission for the liberation of growth in France” by former French President Nicolas Sarkozy. She resigned from this post in 2010 as a reaction to the discrimination of Roma in France. Evelyne Gebhardt was awarded the Federal Cross of Merit (“Bundesverdienstkreuz am Bande”) in 1999 and was twice elected “European of the year” (2005, 2006).
Born on 19 January 1954 in Paris, she studied linguistics as well as politics and economics at the University Paris VII (Sorbonne Nouvelle) and at the Universities of Tübingen and Stuttgart. Since 1975, she is resident in Germany.
Shadow Rapporteur for the DMA Initiative, IMCO Committee
European Parliament
Guillaume Loriot, Director, Markets and Cases II, Information, Communication and Media, DG COMP, European Commission Guillaume Loriot has been the Director for “Information, Communication and Media” at the Directorate General for Competition of the European Commission since 1 November 2014. He is in charge of competition enforcement through Antitrust, Merger and State aid control in IT, media and telecom markets. Guillaume was previously the Deputy Head of Cabinet of Vice President Joaquin Almunia, EU Commissioner for Competition Policy, between 2010 and 2014, and he also held different positions in DG COMP. Before joining the Commission, Guillaume worked in a Brussel’s law firm on competition matters and subsequently as a referendaire with the EU General Court. He studied law in Paris II University, University College London and the College of Europe.
Director, Markets and Cases II, Information, Communication and Media, DG COMP,
European Commission
Tiemo Wölken MEP, JURI Rapporteur for the DSA Initiative Tiemo Wölken (born December 5, 1985 in Otterndorf) has been a member of the SPD since 2004 and had previously been active with the Jusos. Among other things, he was one of the co-founders of the SPD Youth Association in Buxtehude and between 2006 and 2010 deputy chairman of the Jusos, Lower Saxony. After graduating from high school, Mr. Wölken moved to Osnabrück to study law and is currently active there as a member of the SPD district executive committee Weser-Ems.
In November 2016, he moved to the European Parliament for the Weser-Ems district. As a member and legal policy spokesman for the Socialist Group in the Legal Affairs Committee and the Committee on the Environment, Public Health and Food Safety, Tiemo Wölken is particularly committed to sustainable climate policy and European legal standards, placing particular emphasis on digital policy. Tiemo Wölken lives in Osnabrück.
Rapporteur for the DSA Initiative, JURI Committee
European Parliament
Albert Liu, Vice President & Deputy General Counsel, Alibaba Group Albert joined Alibaba in 2017 to lead its globalization legal team and is passionate about executing Alibaba’s globalization efforts and its core mission to make it easy to do business anywhere. Previously, Albert has served as the general counsel and chief compliance officer of three U.S. publicly listed technology companies, as well as head of corporate development, marketing, human resources and business unit general manager in past roles. Albert holds dual degrees in Computer Science and Political Science from Stanford University and a J.D. from the University of California, Hastings College of the Law.
Vice President & Deputy General Counsel
Alibaba Group
Armin Jungbluth, Head of Division - Legal Framework for Digital Services and Media Industry, Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Energy, Germany Dr. Armin Jungbluth has been head of Division “Legal Framework for Digital Services & Media Industry” since July 1st 2017. Before he has been head of Division “Competition and Consumer Policy” in the German Ministry for Economic Affairs and Energy since 2009. From August 2003 until August 2007 he was Deputy Head of the Economic Department at the German Embassy in London. After his entry into the Ministry in April 1989 he served in the Competition Division until the end of 1997. From July 1991 until April 1992 he served at the Permanent Representation of Germany to the European Community in Brussels.
He received a doctorate in law in 1992. In 1988 he passed his Second Legal State Examination in Regensburg. He had his post graduate judicial service traineeship in Regensburg and Luxemburg (Legal Service of the European Parliament) from 1985 until 1988. In 1985 he passed his First Legal State Examination. From 1979 until 1985 he studied law at the University of Regensburg.
Head of Division - Legal Framework for Digital Services and Media Industry
Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Energy, Germany
Edwin van Houten, Director of Consumer Department, Netherlands Authority for Consumers and Markets Mr. Van Houten, M.A. in anthropology, has been director of ACM’s Consumer Department since January 2019. Between 2015 and 2019, Mr. Van Houten was Head of the Department of Care for people with disabilities, asylum seekers and detainees at the Health and Youth Care Inspectorate (IGJ). Prior to that, he worked in various positions at the Immigration and Naturalisation Service (IND), which falls under the Dutch Ministry of Justice and Security (J&V).
Director of Consumer Department
Netherlands Authority for Consumers and Markets
Siada El Ramly, Director-General, DOT Europe Director-General
DOT Europe
Claire Fernandez, Executive Director, EDRi Claire is in charge of EDRi’s leadership, mission and strategy, financial sustainability and oversight, and the daily management of the operations. Before joining EDRi, she worked as the Deputy Director of the European Network Against Racism (ENAR), and prior to that as an independent human rights consultant, and as an adviser to the Council of Europe Commissioner for Human Rights, and represented the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) in Bosnia and Kosovo. She holds a Master degree in Human Rights from the Robert Schuman University in Strasbourg, France.
Executive Director
EDRi
Kyle Andeer, Vice President for Corporate and Compliance Law, Apple Kyle Andeer is an Associate General Counsel and Vice President at Apple Inc. Kyle currently manages Apple’s Corporate and Competition legal teams at Apple. He also serves as Apple’s Chief Compliance Officer. Mr. Andeer joined Apple in 2010 after a ten year career in US Federal Antitrust Enforcement working at both the US Department of Justice’s Antitrust Division and the US Federal Trade Commission in a variety of different roles.
Associate General Counsel and Vice President
Apple
Richard Feasey, Senior Adviser, CERRE Richard is a Senior Adviser to the Centre on Regulation in Europe, where he writes about the regulation of digital markets. He was previously a special adviser to the UK House of Lords inquiry in digital platforms in 2015.
Richard is also currently a Member at the UK Competition and Markets Authority and a Senior Adviser to the UK Payments System Regulator. He was Public Policy Director of Vodafone until 2013.
Senior Adviser
CERRE
Dan Michaels, Brussels Bureau Chief, Wall Street Journal Daniel Michaels is Brussels Bureau Chief for The Wall Street Journal. He was previously German Business Editor, also overseeing coverage of the European Central Bank. For 15 years before that, he was the Journal’s Aerospace & Aviation Editor for Europe, covering airlines, aviation and aerospace industries in Europe, Africa and the Middle East. Before that, he covered Central & Eastern Europe for the WSJ, based in Warsaw.
Before joining the Journal, Daniel worked as a management consultant in New York, Warsaw and Moscow.
Brussels Bureau Chief
Wall Street Journal
Sophie Stalla-Bourdillon, Professor in Information Technology and Data Governance, Co-Director of the Web Science Institute, University of Southampton, & Senior Privacy Counsel and Legal Engineer, Immuta Professor Sophie Stalla-Bourdillon is a Professor in Information Technology Law and Data Governance within Southampton Law School at the University of Southampton and Senior Privacy Counsel and Legal Engineer at Immuta. She is a (non-ex) Director of the Web Science Institute and a member of the Southampton Cybersecurity Centre of Excellence.
Sophie has acted as an expert for the Organisation for the Cooperation and Security in Europe (in the field of intermediary liability) and for the Organisation for Economic Development and Cooperation (in the field of data protection, research data and anonymisation). She was part of the expert group formed by the Council of Europe on intermediary liability MSI-NET (2016-2018). She is member of the expert group to the EU Observatory on the Online Platform Economy formed by the European Commission in 2018.
She is Editor-in-Chief of the Computer Law and Security Review, a leading international journal of technology law and practice.
Professor in Information Technology and Data Governance, University of Southampton, & Senior Privacy Counsel and Legal Engineer, Immuta
Aoife White, Brussels Legal Reporter, Bloomberg News Brussels Legal Reporter
Bloomberg News
Paul Adamson, Chairman, Forum Europe Paul Adamson is chairman of Forum Europe and founder and editor of Encompass, an online magazine dedicated to covering the European Union and Europe’s place in the world.
Paul is a member of the Centre for European Reform’s advisory board and Rand Europe’s Council of Advisors. He is also a Visiting Professor at the Policy Institute, King’s College London, a patron of the University Association of Contemporary European Studies (UACES) and a Fellow of the UK Academy of Social Sciences.
In 2012, Paul was made an Officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE) “for services to promoting understanding of the European Union” and in 2016 he was made a Chevalier in the Ordre national du Mérite by the French government.
Chairman
Forum Europe
Fabienne Weibel, Associate General Counsel & Head of Public Affairs, Chanel Fabienne Weibel is Associate General Counsel, Head of Public Affairs at Chanel. Fabienne began her career working as a lawyer in a Paris-based law firm before moving in-house. She worked more than 10 years for eBay and PayPal, first as legal manager then as Head of Government Relations for EU and after EMEA. She then spent a few years at BlaBlaCar as global Head of Public Affairs before joining Chanel in 2018, where she is also responsible for advocacy globally. Fabienne has a degree in business law and English from the University of Paris X-Nanterre and was a member of the Paris Bar before moving in-house.
Associate General Counsel & Head of Public Affairs
Chanel
J. Scott Marcus, Senior Fellow, Bruegel J. Scott Marcus is a Senior Fellow at Bruegel, a Brussels-based economics think tank, and also works as an independent consultant dealing with policy and regulatory policy regarding electronic communications. His work is interdisciplinary and entails economics, political science / public administration, policy analysis, and engineering.
From 2005 to 2015, he served as a Director for WIK-Consult GmbH (the consulting arm of the WIK, a German research institute in regulatory economics for network industries). From 2001 to 2005, he served as Senior Advisor for Internet Technology for the United States Federal Communications Commission (FCC), as a peer to the Chief Economist and Chief Technologist. In 2004, the FCC seconded Mr. Marcus to the European Commission (to what was then DG INFSO) under a grant from the German Marshall Fund of the United States. Prior to working for the FCC, he was the Chief Technology Officer (CTO) of Genuity, Inc. (GTE Internetworking), one of the world’s largest backbone internet service providers.
Mr. Marcus is a member of the Scientific Committee of the Communications and Media program at the Florence School of Regulation (FSR), a unit of the European University Institute (EUI). He is also a Fellow of GLOCOM (the Center for Global Communications, a research institute of the International University of Japan). He is a Senior Member of the IEEE; has served as co-editor for public policy and regulation for IEEE Communications Magazine; served on the Meetings and Conference Board of the IEEE Communications Society from 2001 through 2005; and was Vice Chair and then Acting Chair of IEEE CNOM. He served on the board of the American Registry of Internet Numbers (ARIN) from 2000 to 2002.
Marcus is the author of numerous papers, a book on data network design. He either led or served as first author for numerous studies for the European Parliament, the European Commission, and national governments and regulatory authorities around the world.
Marcus holds a B.A. in Political Science (Public Administration) from the City College of New York (CCNY), and an M.S. from the School of Engineering, Columbia University.
Senior Fellow
Bruegel
Christophe Roy, Board Chairman, Association of Commercial Television in Europe (ACT) Christophe Roy is currently Director of European Affairs and deputy Legal Director in charge of competition affairs at Canal+ group. Christophe Roy joined Canal+ Group in 2008. Graduated from Paris Sud XI University where he specialized in European and Competition law, Christophe Roy started his career in the telecommunications’ sector at the EU Regulatory Affairs department of France Télécom (1993-1998) before joining Neuf Telecom (1998-2003) and Alice (2003-2008) as Regulatory & European & Competition affairs Director.
Board Chairman
Association of Commercial Television in Europe (ACT)
Townsend Feehan, CEO, IAB Europe Townsend Feehan is CEO of IAB Europe. Prior to joining IAB Europe, Townsend worked for Microsoft Legal & Corporate Affairs in Brussels and ran EU industry associations in the ICT, consumer electronics and biotechnology sectors. She previously represented Microsoft on IAB Europe’s Board. Townsend has an M. Phil. in European policy from the University of Edinburgh.
CEO
IAB Europe
David Martín, Senior Legal Officer and Digital Rights Team Leader, BEUC Senior Legal Officer and Digital Rights Team Leader
BEUC
*** TIMES ARE IN CET ***
The DSA package released in December 2020 was ground-breaking, with the European Commission setting out to deliver significant new guardrails to ensure greater protections against illegal content and the sale of illegal and unsafe products online. By establishing a common set of rules to increase accountability and intermediaries’ obligations, the DSA seeks to create a level-playing field to foster innovation, competitiveness, and growth of the digital single market.
While discussions continue in the European Parliament, there is strong political will to reach a final agreement as part of upcoming trialogue negotiations. This session will discuss the extent to which the latest compromises and consensus around the liability framework for online platforms will meet the ambitions laid out in the original file.
The aim of the Digital Markets Act (DMA) is to ensure the proper functioning of the digital single market by addressing market imbalances in the EU and to support an open and fair digital sector by creating a level playing field with clear prohibitions and obligations for companies defined as ‘gatekeepers’.
With the DMA currently being discussed through trialogue negotiations, this session will examine the final considerations so that the new framework ensures openness and fairness of markets by promoting innovation, as well as strengthening consumer choice and access to high-quality digital products and services. It will explore the criteria for the designation of gatekeepers, the scope of the obligations, and the expected impact that these ex-ante rules will have on European and global businesses, on innovators, as well as on the experiences of the end-users. Finally it will address issues relating to the enforcement of the rules by the European Commission and to its cooperation with national competition authorities who will contribute to investigations.
Given the global nature of the digital economy, there is no doubt that the EU’s ambitions to reform the digital space with both the DSA and DMA will inform future discussions on digital regulation around the world. From a transatlantic perspective, many major US tech companies fall within the scope of both files. As the Biden Administration and the US Congress are also working on platform governance issues, notably the reform of Section 230 and platform liability through various initiatives such as the Executive Order on Promoting Competition in the American Economy, in addition to the work undertaken by U.S. House Judiciary Committee’s Subcommittee on Antitrust, Commercial, and Administrative Law, is there is an opportunity for greater collaboration between the EU and the US to define a common approach to digital regulation based on shared values?
With both regions looking to address similar concerns around the algorithmic amplification of illegal and harmful content online, disinformation, platform transparency and liability, product safety, antitrust issues and the market power of so-called Big Tech, this session will explore what can be done to foster cooperation between the EU and US to ensure compatibility between their respective frameworks, which will be key for digital trade in the future.
To discuss sponsorship and visibility opportunities at the 3rd Digital Services Act Conference, please contact Luke Pearson on [email protected] / +44 (0) 2920 783 078
Exclusive speaking positions | Your organisation can contribute to the discussion, either in person or remotely.
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Networking opportunities | Socially distanced and safe networking opportunities will be available to all in person attendees throughout the day. Both in person and virtual attendees will be able to connect using our App’s virtual networking feature. Virtual private meeting rooms can also be booked
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Exhibition and demos area | Showcase your products and solutions or share a position paper with the audience at both onsite & digital exhibition booths
Details about the venue for this event will be available shortly.
This event will be taking place using Forum Europe’s virtual solution. For more details, please visit forum-europe.com.
For more information on any aspect of this event, please contact Luke Pearson using any of the details below.
Luke Pearson
Forum Europe
Tel: +44 (0) 2920 783 078
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