PORTUGAL Law and Practice Contributed by: Jorge Silva Martins, João Carminho and Inês Coré, CS’Associados
1. Digital Economy 1.1 Key Challenges Context
the two digital agendas for Europe (2010/2020 and 2020/2030), the Digital Single Market Strat - egy, and targeted programmes to accelerate the development of advanced technologies. Among the significant legislative regimes recent - ly adopted in Portugal’s digital space, the follow - ing stand out: • Law No 46/2018, establishing the cyberse - curity legal framework, transposing Directive (EU) 2016/1148 (NIS Directive); • Law No 58/2019, implementing the General Data Protection Regulation; • Decree-Law No 12/2021, implementing Regulation (EU) 910/2014 (eIDAS Regulation), governing electronic identification and trust services for electronic transactions in the internal market; • Law No 27/2021, which approves the Portu - guese Charter on Human Rights in the Digital Age; • Decree-Law No 65/2021, regulating the cybersecurity legal framework and establish - ing cybersecurity certification obligations under Regulation (EU) 2019/881; • Decree-Law No 84/2021, which regulates consumer rights in the purchase and sale of digital goods, content and services, trans - posing Directives (EU) 2019/771 on certain aspects concerning contracts for the sale of goods, and (EU) 2019/770 on certain aspects concerning contracts for the supply of digital content and digital services; and • Law No 16/2022, which approves the new Electronic Communications Law, transposing Directives 98/84/EE, 2002/77/EC and (EU) 2018/1972. At a political level, Portugal has further demon - strated its commitment to digital transforma - tion. Reflecting this commitment, the govern -
The digital economy has transcended its tech - nological roots to become a driving force across all industries and sectors, seamlessly merging the digital and physical worlds. From e-com - merce platforms reshaping traditional retail to IoT devices revolutionising manufacturing and logistics, digital innovation is no longer confined to a single domain – it permeates every aspect of business and society. This convergence of the digital and physical has created unprecedented opportunities, but also complex challenges. Companies must navigate issues such as data privacy, cybersecurity, intel - lectual property, and regulatory compliance, all while adapting to rapid technological advance - ments and heightened consumer expectations – in terms of diversity of products/services and in terms of respect of their fundamental rights. In this “brave new” digital economy, understand - ing the interplay between legal frameworks and business strategy (and risks) is essential for companies to become and remain competitive. Portugal Portugal’s regulation of the digital economy is closely aligned with the EU’s robust legal frame - work, ensuring consistency with EU-wide initia - tives while fostering national innovation. Although foundational “first generation” regimes, such as Decree-Law No 7/2004 (transposing into national law the 2000 EU e-Commerce Directive), continue to play a pivotal role in Por - tugal digital ecosystem, the legal landscape has undergone profound transformation. This evolu - tion is mostly driven by the implementation of
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