What counts as a substantial connection to the Union?

An establishment in the Union is one. Absent that, the test looks at factors such as a significant number of recipients in one or more Member States, or the targeting of activities towards one or more Member States.

We are a small platform. Does this still apply?

The obligation to designate a legal representative is not limited to very large platforms. Some other DSA obligations are scaled by size, and micro and small enterprises are exempt from certain of them, but designation is a threshold requirement.

Digital Services Act

Designating a legal representative under the Digital Services Act

Providers of intermediary services with no EU establishment must designate a legal representative in a Member State. We act as DSA legal representative from Brussels.

All EU market entry mandates

Scope

You are in scope if

You provide an intermediary service — mere conduit, caching or hosting, including online platforms and marketplaces
You have no establishment in the Union
You offer your service in the Union, meaning there is a substantial connection to the Union

The mandate in practice

What we do — and what we do not do

What the legal representative does

Can be addressed by the authorities of the Member States, by the European Commission and by the European Board for Digital Services, on all issues necessary for the receipt of, compliance with and enforcement of decisions issued in relation to your service
Must be given the necessary powers and sufficient resources to cooperate with those authorities and to comply with their decisions
Can be held liable for non-compliance with obligations under the Regulation, without prejudice to your own liability

What we do not do

We do not moderate your content or operate your notice and action mechanism.
We do not act as your point of contact for recipients of your service. That is a separate designation you must make and publish yourself.
We do not take on your own liability under the Regulation. The representative’s liability sits alongside yours, it does not replace it.

What else the DSA requires of you

Designating a legal representative is one obligation among several. You must also establish a single point of contact for authorities and a separate one for recipients of your service, and publish both. Notice and action mechanisms, statements of reasons and terms of service obligations apply in parallel.

Engagement

Our mandate

Written designation, notified as required. A Brussels address as your point of contact for Member State authorities, the Commission and the Board. Handling of incoming decisions and requests, reported to you in English. Fixed annual fee, quoted in writing before engagement.

FAQ

Frequently Asked Questions

Timing

When to contact us

Before you launch in the EU
Before you activate a marketplace listing
When a European customer or a platform asks for your representative’s details
During a funding round or due diligence
After you receive a request from a regulator or a platform
When you expand from one product or system to a catalogue

Discuss a DSA mandate

Schedule a 20-minute discovery call with our founding lawyer. No commitment.

Schedule a Call