  While underlying the many ways to build strong cooperation settings between
regulators and CSOs, this report focuses on making concrete recommendations for
the design of an efficient and influential expert group with the European
Commission. The creation of an expert group finds its roots in article 64 and
recital 137 of the DSA which require the Commission to develop Union expertise
and capabilities. Once established, the experts of this group will be able to
bring evidence-based information directly to the Commission and specific
expertise on the protection of fundamental rights and the safety of users
online. By instituting an expert group, the Commission will not only benefit
from valuable expert knowledge but will also demonstrate its willingness to put
in place an efficient enforcement system based on collective intelligence.
Aside from the establishment of an expert group, other cumulative mechanisms
will also help the DSA's enforcement to thrive. Civil society organisations
should, for instance, consider organising regular crowdsourcing events to
deep-dive and analyse the data published by entities covered by the
transparency obligations. As it has done in the past, the Commission can
sponsor these events and be a direct beneficiary of their results. Another way
for civil society organisations to bring information to the Regulator is by
legal action, including by making complaints to the regulators.
