As Ukraine advances on its path toward EU membership, few areas illustrate the intensity of legislative alignment as clearly as technology, media, and telecommunications (TMT). In recent years, Parliament has modernized media, consumer, data protection, and cybersecurity laws in line with EU standards. Yet the most consequential development now taking shape is a new law modeled on the EU Digital Services Act (DSA) – a framework that will fundamentally reshape how online platforms operate in Ukraine.
Why the DSA Matters
The DSA, fully in force across the EU since February 2024, introduced a harmonized rulebook for digital services. It balances freedom of expression with systemic accountability for online platforms, requiring them to manage illegal content, provide transparency in advertising and recommender systems, and cooperate with regulators. For very large online platforms, it adds obligations to assess and mitigate systemic risks, such as disinformation or threats to civic discourse.
For Ukraine, adopting a DSA-style regime is not merely a formality of accession. It is a strategic necessity. Online platforms, from global players to local marketplaces, are the backbone of Ukraine’s digital economy and a critical front in its information resilience during wartime. Aligning with the EU model ensures that Ukraine’s regulatory environment remains interoperable with the Union’s single digital market while reinforcing domestic safeguards.
Drafting Ukraine’s “DSA”
The Ministry of Digital Transformation has prepared a draft law, shared with the European Commission in late 2024, with revisions expected in 2025. International observers, including the Council of Europe, have advised Ukraine to follow the DSA template closely rather than pursue fragmented, piecemeal rules. The goal is to provide predictability for businesses while safeguarding users’ rights.
Two issues stand out in the domestic debate:
1. The Regulator: The DSA requires each EU member state to appoint an independent “Digital Services Coordinator.” In Ukraine, policymakers are weighing whether this role should fall to the media regulator (National Council on Television and Radio Broadcasting), the communications regulator, or a new coordinating body. The choice will determine not just enforcement but also how trusted flaggers, dispute bodies, and cross-border cooperation function.
2. Scope and Safeguards: Earlier Ukrainian drafts were criticized for imposing broad blocking or removal obligations without adequate due process. The DSA framework, by contrast, insists on judicial or administrative orders, transparent notice-and-action procedures, and avenues for user redress. Adopting these safeguards is essential to prevent overreach, especially in Ukraine’s sensitive information environment.
Supporting Reforms
Although the DSA-inspired draft is the centerpiece, other reforms are converging. Ukraine’s 2023 Media Law has already implemented the EU Audiovisual Media Services Directive, and amendments are expected to reflect the new European Media Freedom Act. The 2023 Law on Digital Content and Services and the modernized Consumer Protection Law align with EU directives, introducing conformity obligations and the E-Consumer Portal (entering into force after the end of the martial law status). A GDPR-style draft law is moving through Parliament, promising higher standards for data privacy protection in Ukraine, including breach notifications, impact assessments, and enforcement. Lastly, in April 2025, Ukraine adopted a new law inspired by the EU’s NIS2 Directive, extending obligations to essential digital services and infrastructure.
Together, these reforms prepare the ground for a DSA-style regime, ensuring consistency across the TMT landscape.
Implications for Businesses
For platforms, marketplaces, and intermediaries, the coming law will mean clearer duties to remove illegal content following valid orders and user notices, transparency requirements for online advertising and recommender systems, accountability measures for very large platforms, including annual risk assessments, and a closer regulatory supervision under a national Digital Services Coordinator.
For consumer-facing businesses, the integration of DSA obligations with new consumer and data protection rules means compliance will need to be cross-functional. Legal, compliance, product, and technical teams should collaborate early to adapt terms of service, complaint mechanisms, and risk controls.
Looking Ahead
The unveiling of Ukraine’s DSA draft in 2025 will be a watershed moment. The law’s design – especially the choice of regulator and the balance of obligations with user rights – will shape the country’s digital environment for the next decade. For international and local players alike, the message is clear: preparing for the DSA in Ukraine is not optional but the key to future-proofing operations in a market that is steadily integrating into the EU digital single market.
By Oleksiy Stolyarenko, Partner, Baker McKenzie
This article was originally published in Issue 12.7 of the CEE Legal Matters Magazine. If you would like to receive a hard copy of the magazine, you can subscribe here.
