DIGITALEUROPE Members exchange views on the Commission’s proposal on collective redress
On 24 April, DIGITALEUROPE organised an internal workshop for its members to exchange views on the Commission’s proposal for a Directive on representative actions. The objective of the meeting was to raise members’ awareness of the content of the proposal and its potential consequences for both consumers and the industry.
The first part of the workshop was therefore dedicated to the Commission’s proposal and the context in which it was introduced. Members received clarifications on the scope and the subject matter of the proposal and discussed the provisions on qualified entities, their criteria and funding, the different actions available for representative actions and the strengths and weaknesses of the opt-in and opt-out mechanisms.
The second session focused on national systems’ best practices and differences. Members dived into the Musterfeststellungsklage, Germany’s declaratory action model which was presented by Bitkom, the country’s leading tech association. They compared it to the collective action system available in Denmark, which components were presented and analysed by a representative from DI, the Confederation of the Danish Industry.
For the last part, DIGITALEUROPE invited representatives from BusinessEurope and the US Institute for Legal Reform to exchange with members on the risk of abusive litigation if the proposal is not complemented with appropriate and much necessary safeguards. This includes a ban on punitive damages, which are synonymous to a US-style class action, and the introduction of the losers pays principle. Our members strongly believe that once infringement has been established, consumers should effectively receive compensation that corresponds to their damage and harm suffered.
DIGITALEUROPE supports the EU institutions’ efforts to improve consumers’ access to justice and legal certainty for businesses. We look forward to closely working with all interested stakeholders to make sure that the proposal establishes fairer rules for collective action across Europe.