Digital Services Coordinator and Competent Authorities
The National Communications Authority (ANACOM) is designated as the competent administrative authority and as the Digital Services Coordinator, acting as the single point of contact with the European Commission, the European Digital Services Board and the coordinators of other Member States.
Law 12-A also assigns specific powers to other bodies: the Media Regulatory Authority (ERC) and the National Data Protection Commission (CNPD).
The ERC is designated as the competent authority responsible for the supervision and enforcement of matters relating to advertising on online platforms and the protection of minors, in accordance with Article 14(3), Article 26(1) and (2) and Article 28(1) of the DSA.
The CNPD, meanwhile, is responsible for the supervision and enforcement of the provisions of Article 26(3) and Article 28(2) of the DSA, in particular with regard to advertising based on special categories of personal data and personal data of minors.
Investigative and Enforcement Powers
ANACOM has extensive investigative and supervisory powers, including:
- Requiring the provision of information, with a minimum response time of 10 working days, except in duly justified urgent cases.
- Requesting the judicial authority to carry out inspections and searches with the seizure of documentation and information, regardless of the medium on which it is stored.
- Accepting binding commitments from providers.
- Ordering the cessation of infringements, imposing fines, applying periodic penalty payments and requesting interim measures from the judicial authority.
- Request the temporary restriction of access to the service or online interface in question.
As regards matters referred to the ERC and the CNPD, these are the competent authorities for their supervision and the imposition of sanctions.
The exercise of these powers is expressly limited by the application of the guarantees set out in the Constitution, the Code of Administrative Procedure, the Penal Code, the Code of Criminal Procedure, amongst others, and the right to privacy and the rights of defence must be ensured, including the right to be heard, the right of access to the file and the right to judicial review.
Orders to act on illegal content must include, amongst other elements, the identification of the issuing authority, a description of the specific elements of the illegal content in question, the territorial scope of enforcement, the legal basis and the deadline for enforcement. Similarly, orders to provide information must identify the information to be provided, the individual recipients concerned, the legal basis and the redress mechanisms.
