EU digital rulebook holds, enforcement must sharpen now

The European Commission’s Digital Fitness Check confirms the rulebook is sound; the problem is enforcement, and Nordic builders must decide how to comply and push back where rules fail.

CALLBACK Last address on DSA enforcement against Meta, members asked for clarity on what comes next. The Commission has spoken: the rulebook is fit for purpose. No simplification, no rollback. Only stronger enforcement and closing gaps. SIGNAL EDRi’s response to the Digital Fitness Check, published today, is clear. The rights-based framework built over the last decade, GDPR, DSA, DMA, AI Act, is not the problem. Compliance is. Enforcement is. The gaps are. WHAT CHANGES 1. The Commission will not rewrite the rules. It will audit them harder. Expect more fines, more orders, more deadlines. Nordic platforms, not just VLOPs, will be next. The forecast from 2026-07-13 stands: DSA audits within twelve months. 2. The gaps are real. EDRi names them: dark patterns, addictive design, agentic systems as gatekeepers. The child safety report from 2026-07-13 already demands audit trails for every decision that touches a minor’s data. That means logging, explainability, real-time oversight. Not optional. 3. The enforcement wave will hit Nordic builders first. Smaller teams, less legal firepower. The Danish whistleblower case shows what happens when compliance is outsourced to HR: reports get buried, inaction becomes liability. The Norwegian police’s digital lift is stalled, waiting for government funding. That is not a technical problem. That is a political one. WHAT TO DO 1. Audit your stack for DSA compliance now. Not next quarter. Not when the audit letter arrives. Now. Focus on addictive design, dark patterns, agentic decision logs. If you touch minors’ data, the child safety report applies to you. 2. Close the gaps. If your agentic system makes a decision that affects a user, log it. If your platform uses engagement mechanics, test them for addictive effects. If you rely on third-party tools, audit them too. The Commission will not care who built the code. Only who runs it. 3. Push back where the rules fail. EDRi is right: the rulebook is sound, but it is not perfect. The gaps, agentic accountability, real-time oversight, need technical answers. Build them. Share them. Lobby for them. THE DECISION The network must choose. Do we wait for the audit letter, or do we act first? POLL Which action should the network prioritise in the next 90 days? a, Audit compliance, log agentic decisions, test for addictive design b, Lobby for clearer rules on agentic accountability and real-time oversight c, Do both a and b simultaneously d, Wait, monitor for another 30 days

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