keyboard_tab Digital Service Act 2022/2065 EN
BG CS DA DE EL EN ES ET FI FR GA HR HU IT LV LT MT NL PL PT RO SK SL SV print pdf
- 2 Art. 3 Definitions
- 1 Art. 12 Points of contact for recipients of the service
- 4 Art. 15 Transparency reporting obligations for providers of intermediary services
- 1 Art. 16 Notice and action mechanisms
- 2 Art. 17 Statement of reasons
- 1 Art. 20 Internal complaint-handling system
- 1 Art. 34 Risk assessment
CHAPTER I
GENERAL PROVISIONS
CHAPTER II
LIABILITY OF PROVIDERS OF INTERMEDIARY SERVICES
CHAPTER III
DUE DILIGENCE OBLIGATIONS FOR A TRANSPARENT AND SAFE ONLINE ENVIRONMENT
SECTION 1
Provisions applicable to all providers of intermediary services
SECTION 2
Additional provisions applicable to providers of hosting services, including online platforms
SECTION 3
Additional provisions applicable to providers of online platforms
SECTION 4
Additional provisions applicable to providers of online platforms allowing consumers to conclude distance contracts with traders
SECTION 5
Additional obligations for providers of very large online platforms and of very large online search engines to manage systemic risks
SECTION 6
Other provisions concerning due diligence obligations
CHAPTER IV
IMPLEMENTATION, COOPERATION, PENALTIES AND ENFORCEMENT
SECTION 1
Competent authorities and national Digital Services Coordinators
SECTION 2
Competences, coordinated investigation and consistency mechanisms
SECTION 3
European Board for Digital Services
SECTION 4
Supervision, investigation, enforcement and monitoring in respect of providers of very large online platforms and of very large online search engines
SECTION 5
Common provisions on enforcement
SECTION 6
Delegated and implementing acts
CHAPTER V
FINAL PROVISIONS
- information society service
- recipient of the service
- consumer
- to offer services in the Union
- substantial connection to the Union
- trader
- intermediary service
- mere conduit
- caching
- hosting
- illegal content
- online platform
- online search engine
- dissemination to the public
- distance contract
- online interface
- Digital Services Coordinator of establishment
- Digital Services Coordinator of destination
- active recipient of an online platform
- active recipient of an online search engine
- advertisement
- recommender system
- content moderation
- terms and conditions
- persons with disabilities
- commercial communication
- turnover
- Mere conduit
- Caching
- information 66
- shall 45
- means 35
- service 30
- including 20
- services 18
- decision 17
- referred 17
- recipients 16
- in article 15
- provider 15
- provided 14
- providers 14
- recipient_of_the_service 14
- illegal_content 14
- whether 13
- automated 12
- taken 12
- intermediary_services 12
- hosting 12
- providers 12
- specific 11
- paragraph 11
- which 11
- online_platforms 11
- respect 10
- notice 10
- following 10
- decisions 10
- number 9
- notices 9
- terms_and_conditions 8
- entity 8
- individual 8
- online_platform 8
- particular 8
- content 8
- accordance 8
- access 8
- submitted 7
- article 7
- very 7
- such 7
- enshrined 7
- through 7
- order 7
- large 7
- article 7
- legal 7
- purposes 7
Article 3
Definitions
For the purpose of this Regulation, the following definitions shall apply:
| (a) | ‘ information_society_service’ means a ‘service’ as defined in Article 1(1), point (b), of Directive (EU) 2015/1535; |
| (b) | ‘ recipient_of_the_service’ means any natural or legal person who uses an intermediary_service, in particular for the purposes of seeking information or making it accessible; |
| (c) | ‘ consumer’ means any natural person who is acting for purposes which are outside his or her trade, business, craft, or profession; |
| (d) | ‘ to_offer_services_in_the_Union’ means enabling natural or legal persons in one or more Member States to use the services of a provider of intermediary_services that has a substantial_connection_to_the_Union; |
| (e) | ‘ substantial_connection_to_the_Union’ means a connection of a provider of intermediary_services with the Union resulting either from its establishment in the Union or from specific factual criteria, such as:
|
| (f) | ‘ trader’ means any natural person, or any legal person irrespective of whether it is privately or publicly owned, who is acting, including through any person acting in his or her name or on his or her behalf, for purposes relating to his or her trade, business, craft or profession; |
| (g) | ‘ intermediary_service’ means one of the following information_society_services:
|
| (h) | ‘ illegal_content’ means any information that, in itself or in relation to an activity, including the sale of products or the provision of services, is not in compliance with Union law or the law of any Member State which is in compliance with Union law, irrespective of the precise subject matter or nature of that law; |
| (i) | ‘ online_platform’ means a hosting service that, at the request of a recipient_of_the_service, stores and disseminates information to the public, unless that activity is a minor and purely ancillary feature of another service or a minor functionality of the principal service and, for objective and technical reasons, cannot be used without that other service, and the integration of the feature or functionality into the other service is not a means to circumvent the applicability of this Regulation; |
| (j) | ‘ online_search_engine’ means an intermediary_service that allows users to input queries in order to perform searches of, in principle, all websites, or all websites in a particular language, on the basis of a query on any subject in the form of a keyword, voice request, phrase or other input, and returns results in any format in which information related to the requested content can be found; |
| (k) | ‘ dissemination_to_the_public’ means making information available, at the request of the recipient_of_the_service who provided the information, to a potentially unlimited number of third parties; |
| (l) | ‘ distance_contract’ means ‘ distance_contract’ as defined in Article 2, point (7), of Directive 2011/83/EU; |
| (m) | ‘ online_interface’ means any software, including a website or a part thereof, and applications, including mobile applications; |
| (n) | ‘ Digital_Services_Coordinator_of_establishment’ means the Digital Services Coordinator of the Member State where the main establishment of a provider of an intermediary_service is located or its legal representative resides or is established; |
| (o) | ‘ Digital_Services_Coordinator_of_destination’ means the Digital Services Coordinator of a Member State where the intermediary_service is provided; |
| (p) | ‘active recipient of an online_platform’ means a recipient_of_the_service that has engaged with an online_platform by either requesting the online_platform to host information or being exposed to information hosted by the online_platform and disseminated through its online_interface; |
| (q) | ‘active recipient of an online_search_engine’ means a recipient_of_the_service that has submitted a query to an online_search_engine and been exposed to information indexed and presented on its online_interface; |
| (r) | ‘ advertisement’ means information designed to promote the message of a legal or natural person, irrespective of whether to achieve commercial or non-commercial purposes, and presented by an online_platform on its online_interface against remuneration specifically for promoting that information; |
| (s) | ‘ recommender_system’ means a fully or partially automated system used by an online_platform to suggest in its online_interface specific information to recipients of the service or prioritise that information, including as a result of a search initiated by the recipient_of_the_service or otherwise determining the relative order or prominence of information displayed; |
| (t) | ‘ content_moderation’ means the activities, whether automated or not, undertaken by providers of intermediary_services, that are aimed, in particular, at detecting, identifying and addressing illegal_content or information incompatible with their terms_and_conditions, provided by recipients of the service, including measures taken that affect the availability, visibility, and accessibility of that illegal_content or that information, such as demotion, demonetisation, disabling of access to, or removal thereof, or that affect the ability of the recipients of the service to provide that information, such as the termination or suspension of a recipient’s account; |
| (u) | ‘ terms_and_conditions’ means all clauses, irrespective of their name or form, which govern the contractual relationship between the provider of intermediary_services and the recipients of the service; |
| (v) | ‘ persons_with_disabilities’ means ‘ persons_with_disabilities’ as referred to in Article 3, point (1), of Directive (EU) 2019/882 of the European Parliament and of the Council (38); |
| (w) | ‘ commercial_communication’ means ‘ commercial_communication’ as defined in Article 2, point (f), of Directive 2000/31/EC; |
| (x) | ‘ turnover’ means the amount derived by an undertaking within the meaning of Article 5(1) of Council Regulation (EC) No 139/2004 (39). |
CHAPTER II
LIABILITY OF PROVIDERS OF INTERMEDIARY SERVICES
Article 12
Points of contact for recipients of the service
1. Providers of intermediary_services shall designate a single point of contact to enable recipients of the service to communicate directly and rapidly with them, by electronic means and in a user-friendly manner, including by allowing recipients of the service to choose the means of communication, which shall not solely rely on automated tools.
2. In addition to the obligations provided under Directive 2000/31/EC, providers of intermediary_services shall make public the information necessary for the recipients of the service in order to easily identify and communicate with their single points of contact. That information shall be easily accessible, and shall be kept up to date.
Article 15
Transparency reporting obligations for providers of intermediary_services
1. Providers of intermediary_services shall make publicly available, in a machine-readable format and in an easily accessible manner, at least once a year, clear, easily comprehensible reports on any content_moderation that they engaged in during the relevant period. Those reports shall include, in particular, information on the following, as applicable:
| (a) | for providers of intermediary_services, the number of orders received from Member States’ authorities including orders issued in accordance with Articles 9 and 10, categorised by the type of illegal_content concerned, the Member State issuing the order, and the median time needed to inform the authority issuing the order, or any other authority specified in the order, of its receipt, and to give effect to the order; |
| (b) | for providers of hosting services, the number of notices submitted in accordance with Article 16, categorised by the type of alleged illegal_content concerned, the number of notices submitted by trusted flaggers, any action taken pursuant to the notices by differentiating whether the action was taken on the basis of the law or the terms_and_conditions of the provider, the number of notices processed by using automated means and the median time needed for taking the action; |
| (c) | for providers of intermediary_services, meaningful and comprehensible information about the content_moderation engaged in at the providers’ own initiative, including the use of automated tools, the measures taken to provide training and assistance to persons in charge of content_moderation, the number and type of measures taken that affect the availability, visibility and accessibility of information provided by the recipients of the service and the recipients’ ability to provide information through the service, and other related restrictions of the service; the information reported shall be categorised by the type of illegal_content or violation of the terms_and_conditions of the service provider, by the detection method and by the type of restriction applied; |
| (d) | for providers of intermediary_services, the number of complaints received through the internal complaint-handling systems in accordance with the provider’s terms_and_conditions and additionally, for providers of online_platforms, in accordance with Article 20, the basis for those complaints, decisions taken in respect of those complaints, the median time needed for taking those decisions and the number of instances where those decisions were reversed; |
| (e) | any use made of automated means for the purpose of content_moderation, including a qualitative description, a specification of the precise purposes, indicators of the accuracy and the possible rate of error of the automated means used in fulfilling those purposes, and any safeguards applied. |
2. Paragraph 1 of this Article shall not apply to providers of intermediary_services that qualify as micro or small enterprises as defined in Recommendation 2003/361/EC and which are not very large online_platforms within the meaning of Article 33 of this Regulation.
3. The Commission may adopt implementing acts to lay down templates concerning the form, content and other details of reports pursuant to paragraph 1 of this Article, including harmonised reporting periods. Those implementing acts shall be adopted in accordance with the advisory procedure referred to in Article 88.
SECTION 2
Additional provisions applicable to providers of hosting services, including online_platforms
Article 16
Notice and action mechanisms
1. Providers of hosting services shall put mechanisms in place to allow any individual or entity to notify them of the presence on their service of specific items of information that the individual or entity considers to be illegal_content. Those mechanisms shall be easy to access and user-friendly, and shall allow for the submission of notices exclusively by electronic means.
2. The mechanisms referred to in paragraph 1 shall be such as to facilitate the submission of sufficiently precise and adequately substantiated notices. To that end, the providers of hosting services shall take the necessary measures to enable and to facilitate the submission of notices containing all of the following elements:
| (a) | a sufficiently substantiated explanation of the reasons why the individual or entity alleges the information in question to be illegal_content; |
| (b) | a clear indication of the exact electronic location of that information, such as the exact URL or URLs, and, where necessary, additional information enabling the identification of the illegal_content adapted to the type of content and to the specific type of hosting service; |
| (c) | the name and email address of the individual or entity submitting the notice, except in the case of information considered to involve one of the offences referred to in Articles 3 to 7 of Directive 2011/93/EU; |
| (d) | a statement confirming the bona fide belief of the individual or entity submitting the notice that the information and allegations contained therein are accurate and complete. |
3. Notices referred to in this Article shall be considered to give rise to actual knowledge or awareness for the purposes of Article 6 in respect of the specific item of information concerned where they allow a diligent provider of hosting services to identify the illegality of the relevant activity or information without a detailed legal examination.
4. Where the notice contains the electronic contact information of the individual or entity that submitted it, the provider of hosting services shall, without undue delay, send a confirmation of receipt of the notice to that individual or entity.
5. The provider shall also, without undue delay, notify that individual or entity of its decision in respect of the information to which the notice relates, providing information on the possibilities for redress in respect of that decision.
6. Providers of hosting services shall process any notices that they receive under the mechanisms referred to in paragraph 1 and take their decisions in respect of the information to which the notices relate, in a timely, diligent, non-arbitrary and objective manner. Where they use automated means for that processing or decision-making, they shall include information on such use in the notification referred to in paragraph 5.
Article 17
Statement of reasons
1. Providers of hosting services shall provide a clear and specific statement of reasons to any affected recipients of the service for any of the following restrictions imposed on the ground that the information provided by the recipient_of_the_service is illegal_content or incompatible with their terms_and_conditions:
| (a) | any restrictions of the visibility of specific items of information provided by the recipient_of_the_service, including removal of content, disabling access to content, or demoting content; |
| (b) | suspension, termination or other restriction of monetary payments; |
| (c) | suspension or termination of the provision of the service in whole or in part; |
| (d) | suspension or termination of the recipient_of_the_service's account. |
2. Paragraph 1 shall only apply where the relevant electronic contact details are known to the provider. It shall apply at the latest from the date that the restriction is imposed, regardless of why or how it was imposed.
Paragraph 1 shall not apply where the information is deceptive high-volume commercial content.
3. The statement of reasons referred to in paragraph 1 shall at least contain the following information:
| (a) | information on whether the decision entails either the removal of, the disabling of access to, the demotion of or the restriction of the visibility of the information, or the suspension or termination of monetary payments related to that information, or imposes other measures referred to in paragraph 1 with regard to the information, and, where relevant, the territorial scope of the decision and its duration; |
| (b) | the facts and circumstances relied on in taking the decision, including, where relevant, information on whether the decision was taken pursuant to a notice submitted in accordance with Article 16 or based on voluntary own-initiative investigations and, where strictly necessary, the identity of the notifier; |
| (c) | where applicable, information on the use made of automated means in taking the decision, including information on whether the decision was taken in respect of content detected or identified using automated means; |
| (d) | where the decision concerns allegedly illegal_content, a reference to the legal ground relied on and explanations as to why the information is considered to be illegal_content on that ground; |
| (e) | where the decision is based on the alleged incompatibility of the information with the terms_and_conditions of the provider of hosting services, a reference to the contractual ground relied on and explanations as to why the information is considered to be incompatible with that ground; |
| (f) | clear and user-friendly information on the possibilities for redress available to the recipient_of_the_service in respect of the decision, in particular, where applicable through internal complaint-handling mechanisms, out-of-court dispute settlement and judicial redress. |
4. The information provided by the providers of hosting services in accordance with this Article shall be clear and easily comprehensible and as precise and specific as reasonably possible under the given circumstances. The information shall, in particular, be such as to reasonably allow the recipient_of_the_service concerned to effectively exercise the possibilities for redress referred to in of paragraph 3, point (f).
5. This Article shall not apply to any orders referred to in Article 9.
Article 20
Internal complaint-handling system
1. Providers of online_platforms shall provide recipients of the service, including individuals or entities that have submitted a notice, for a period of at least six months following the decision referred to in this paragraph, with access to an effective internal complaint-handling system that enables them to lodge complaints, electronically and free of charge, against the decision taken by the provider of the online_platform upon the receipt of a notice or against the following decisions taken by the provider of the online_platform on the grounds that the information provided by the recipients constitutes illegal_content or is incompatible with its terms_and_conditions:
| (a) | decisions whether or not to remove or disable access to or restrict visibility of the information; |
| (b) | decisions whether or not to suspend or terminate the provision of the service, in whole or in part, to the recipients; |
| (c) | decisions whether or not to suspend or terminate the recipients’ account; |
| (d) | decisions whether or not to suspend, terminate or otherwise restrict the ability to monetise information provided by the recipients. |
2. The period of at least six months referred to in paragraph 1 of this Article shall start on the day on which the recipient_of_the_service is informed about the decision in accordance with Article 16(5) or Article 17.
3. Providers of online_platforms shall ensure that their internal complaint-handling systems are easy to access, user-friendly and enable and facilitate the submission of sufficiently precise and adequately substantiated complaints.
4. Providers of online_platforms shall handle complaints submitted through their internal complaint-handling system in a timely, non-discriminatory, diligent and non-arbitrary manner. Where a complaint contains sufficient grounds for the provider of the online_platform to consider that its decision not to act upon the notice is unfounded or that the information to which the complaint relates is not illegal and is not incompatible with its terms_and_conditions, or contains information indicating that the complainant’s conduct does not warrant the measure taken, it shall reverse its decision referred to in paragraph 1 without undue delay.
5. Providers of online_platforms shall inform complainants without undue delay of their reasoned decision in respect of the information to which the complaint relates and of the possibility of out-of-court dispute settlement provided for in Article 21 and other available possibilities for redress.
6. Providers of online_platforms shall ensure that the decisions, referred to in paragraph 5, are taken under the supervision of appropriately qualified staff, and not solely on the basis of automated means.
Article 34
Risk assessment
1. Providers of very large online_platforms and of very large online_search_engines shall diligently identify, analyse and assess any systemic risks in the Union stemming from the design or functioning of their service and its related systems, including algorithmic systems, or from the use made of their services.
They shall carry out the risk assessments by the date of application referred to in Article 33(6), second subparagraph, and at least once every year thereafter, and in any event prior to deploying functionalities that are likely to have a critical impact on the risks identified pursuant to this Article. This risk assessment shall be specific to their services and proportionate to the systemic risks, taking into consideration their severity and probability, and shall include the following systemic risks:
| (a) | the dissemination of illegal_content through their services; |
| (b) | any actual or foreseeable negative effects for the exercise of fundamental rights, in particular the fundamental rights to human dignity enshrined in Article 1 of the Charter, to respect for private and family life enshrined in Article 7 of the Charter, to the protection of personal data enshrined in Article 8 of the Charter, to freedom of expression and information, including the freedom and pluralism of the media, enshrined in Article 11 of the Charter, to non-discrimination enshrined in Article 21 of the Charter, to respect for the rights of the child enshrined in Article 24 of the Charter and to a high-level of consumer protection enshrined in Article 38 of the Charter; |
| (c) | any actual or foreseeable negative effects on civic discourse and electoral processes, and public security; |
| (d) | any actual or foreseeable negative effects in relation to gender-based violence, the protection of public health and minors and serious negative consequences to the person’s physical and mental well-being. |
2. When conducting risk assessments, providers of very large online_platforms and of very large online_search_engines shall take into account, in particular, whether and how the following factors influence any of the systemic risks referred to in paragraph 1:
| (a) | the design of their recommender_systems and any other relevant algorithmic system; |
| (b) | their content_moderation systems; |
| (c) | the applicable terms_and_conditions and their enforcement; |
| (d) | systems for selecting and presenting advertisements; |
| (e) | data related practices of the provider. |
The assessments shall also analyse whether and how the risks pursuant to paragraph 1 are influenced by intentional manipulation of their service, including by inauthentic use or automated exploitation of the service, as well as the amplification and potentially rapid and wide dissemination of illegal_content and of information that is incompatible with their terms_and_conditions.
The assessment shall take into account specific regional or linguistic aspects, including when specific to a Member State.
3. Providers of very large online_platforms and of very large online_search_engines shall preserve the supporting documents of the risk assessments for at least three years after the performance of risk assessments, and shall, upon request, communicate them to the Commission and to the Digital_Services_Coordinator_of_establishment.
whereas