Proposal · not law · creates no obligations · CELEX 52026PC0016
Proposal for a Regulation of the European Parliament and of the Council on digital networks, amending Regulation (EU) 2015/2120, Directive 2002/58/EC and Decision No 676/2002/EC and repealing Regulation (EU) 2018/1971, Directive (EU) 2018/1972 and Decision No 243/2012/EU (Digital Networks Act) — COM(2026) 16 final
Official text: COM(2026) 16 final — Proposal for a Regulation of the European Parliament and of the Council on digital networks (Digital Networks Act)Tier 1 · legislative proposal
NOT LAW. A Commission proposal of 21 January 2026 (COM(2026) 16), under the ordinary legislative procedure 2026/0013(COD). On 28 October 2026 the Legislative Observatory gives the stage reached as ‘Awaiting committee decision’: the proposal was referred to Parliament’s Committee on Industry, Research and Energy (announced 27 April 2026), whose draft report is dated 20 October 2026. No position of Parliament or of the Council is recorded, and the Publications Office’s metadata list the proposal as pending. Every obligation, date and penalty in its text is proposed, not law. Read on 28 Oct 2026 in the proposal retrieved from the Publications Office’s Cellar, in the Publications Office’s metadata and in the Legislative Observatory.
Would establish rules for the provision of electronic communications networks and services, associated facilities and associated services, for the strategic planning and management of radio spectrum and for certain aspects of terminal equipment, with a governance framework for the electronic communications sector made up of the national regulatory authorities, BEREC, a Radio Spectrum Policy Body and an Office for Digital Networks.
Entry into force, application and transposition are different events and are kept apart. A date at month precision is shown as a month rather than invented as a day.
The applicability engine holds no rule for this instrument yet. Absence of a rule is absence of knowledge, not evidence that the instrument does not reach you.
3 provisions recorded. This is what the dataset holds, not the whole instrument — an article that is not here has not been entered, which is a different statement from its not existing.
| Article | Heading | Would bind | Would apply |
|---|---|---|---|
| Art. 5 | Availability and capabilities of electronic communications networks and servicesProposed, not law. Providers of public electronic communications networks and of publicly available electronic communications services would cooperate with the national authorities to keep networks and services continuously available through disruptions, crises or force majeure (5(1)); with the public safety answering points, they would take all necessary measures to ensure uninterrupted critical and emergency communications and public warnings (5(2)); and they would tell the authorities and end-users at least two years in advance where a migration to other network technologies may discontinue services on end-user devices (5(4)). | Electronic communications provider | no date: a proposal is not law |
| Art. 9 | General authorisationProposed, not law. The freedom to provide electronic communications networks and services would be subject only to the conditions and obligations the Regulation sets (9(1)). The general authorisation would apply to providers of public electronic communications services and of networks used wholly or mainly to provide electronic communications services or information society services available to the public (9(2)), not to number-independent interpersonal communications services (9(3)); its conditions, listed in 9(4), include resilience and preparedness, cybersecurity rules, access to data by law enforcement and judicial authorities, interconnection and interoperability. | Electronic communications provider | no date: a proposal is not law |
| Art. 93 | Safeguarding of open internet accessProposed, not law. End-users would have the right to access and distribute information and content, use and provide applications and services and use terminal equipment of their choice via their internet access service (93(1)); providers of internet access services would treat all traffic equally, with reasonable traffic management only within the limits of 93(3), and personal data processed for it would be processed in accordance with the GDPR (93(4)). | Electronic communications provider | no date: a proposal is not law |
This dataset holds no enforcement action under this instrument. That is what the record says; it is not a finding that none has been taken.
The instrument record itself was last verified on 28 October 2026; every claim below carries its own date.
No claim in the dataset is tagged to this instrument.
3 recorded interactions with other instruments — each with a direction, the provisions that carry it and its own sources. Direction is preserved as recorded: an instrument that amends another is not the same as one amended by it.
Digital Networks Act Amends ePrivacy
Proposed: Articles 7, 8, 10, 11 and 12 of the ePrivacy Directive would be deleted, and references to its Article 8 would be read as references to Article 109 of the proposed Regulation.
Recorded as at 28 October 2026
Digital Networks Act Defers to GDPR
This instrument leaves a matter to the other: a without-prejudice clause, a 'shall not affect' clause or an express reference sending the reader there. The locator is in the DEFERRING instrument's text (from). Added 27 Oct 2026 (docs/V2-DATA-DESIGN.md §1.4).
Proposed: personal data processed for internet traffic management would be processed in accordance with the GDPR.
Recorded as at 28 October 2026
Digital Networks Act Defers to NIS2
This instrument leaves a matter to the other: a without-prejudice clause, a 'shall not affect' clause or an express reference sending the reader there. The locator is in the DEFERRING instrument's text (from). Added 27 Oct 2026 (docs/V2-DATA-DESIGN.md §1.4).
Proposed: the providers' duty to keep critical and emergency communications available would apply without prejudice to NIS2, and the crisis tasks it would give BEREC would not affect those of ENISA, the CSIRTs network, EU-CyCLONe or the NIS Cooperation Group.
Recorded as at 28 October 2026