Zagreb - Greater internet oversight, protection from illegal content and better-informed users are among the benefits brought by the regulations on the single market for digital services and data governance, Justice, Administration and Digital Transformation Minister Damir Habijan said in parliament on Friday.
These are EU regulations that are fully binding for all member states, he added.
The Digital Services Act establishes the responsibility of digital service providers acting as intermediaries between consumers and what they purchase on platforms, he said. To better protect digital service users, it introduces various obligations related to disinformation, illegal goods and content, cyberbullying, deceptive patterns and targeted advertising, he added.
The Act also regulates data management within public administration in a new way.
“The adoption of both acts will enable greater internet oversight, better awareness among citizens of why certain content is recommended to them, the ability to opt out of profiling, and new rules that will help protect users from illegal content,” Habijan said.
For example, a platform that publishes fake news, hate speech or sells suspicious products will have to remove such content upon user report and provide information on who posted it, he added.
MP Urša Raukar Gamulin (We Can!) advocated for the Croatian Regulatory Authority for Network Industries (HAKOM), designated as the digital services coordinator, to maintain and publish a real-time database of all requests from Croatian authorities for content removal directed at platforms.
“Otherwise, it will only fuel suspicion of the arbitrariness of such requests and further erode the already low trust in the independence of institutions.” She also stressed the need to balance freedom of expression with protection from hate speech.
MP Ivan Račan (Social Democratic Party) described the Digital Services Act as the most comprehensive attempt to regulate digital platforms in Croatia and the EU.
It reduces algorithmic manipulation and combats manipulative design, such as hidden buttons for cancelling subscriptions, automatic subscription renewals without notification or fake pop-ups forcing users to consent to data tracking. For online shopping, it introduces seller verification and identification to prevent fraud, he said.
MP Ante Babić (HDZ) said the two bills clearly demonstrate Croatia’s determination and readiness to keep pace with Europe's digital transformation and systematically adapt its legislation to modern challenges. “They bring tangible benefits for citizens and businesses and firmly position Croatia as an active participant in the EU’s single digital market.”
MP Dalija Orešković (DOSIP) said that instead of focusing on protecting citizens in the digital space, the justice minister should prioritise the rule of law in Croatia and ask himself, “What about judicial independence, the fight against corruption and the efficiency of legal proceedings, especially against HDZ’s corrupt officials?”