keyboard_tab Digital Service Act 2022/2065 EN

1.   Upon receipt of an order to provide specific information about one or more specific individual recipients of the service, issued by the relevant national judicial or administrative authorities on the basis of the applicable Union law or national law in compliance with Union law, providers of intermediary_services shall, without undue delay inform the authority issuing the order, or any other authority specified in the order, of its receipt and of the effect given to the order, specifying if and when effect was given to the order.

2.   Member States shall ensure that when an order referred to in paragraph 1 is transmitted to the provider, it meets at least the following conditions:

3.   The authority issuing the order or, where applicable, the authority specified therein, shall transmit it, along with any information received from the provider of intermediary_services concerning the effect given to that order to the Digital Services Coordinator from the Member State of the issuing authority.

4.   After receiving the order from the judicial or administrative authority, the Digital Services Coordinator of the Member State concerned shall, without undue delay, transmit a copy of the order referred to in paragraph 1 of this Article to all Digital Services Coordinators through the system established in accordance with Article 85.

5.   At the latest when effect is given to the order, or, where applicable, at the time provided by the issuing authority in its order, providers of intermediary_services shall inform the recipient_of_the_service concerned of the order received and the effect given to it. Such information provided to the recipient_of_the_service shall include a statement of reasons and the possibilities for redress that exist, in accordance with paragraph 2.

6.   The conditions and requirements laid down in this Article shall be without prejudice to national civil and criminal procedural law.

1.   Providers of intermediary_services shall designate a single point of contact to enable them to communicate directly, by electronic means, with Member States’ authorities, the Commission and the Board referred to in Article 61 for the application of this Regulation.

2.   Providers of intermediary_services shall make public the information necessary to easily identify and communicate with their single points of contact. That information shall be easily accessible, and shall be kept up to date.

3.   Providers of intermediary_services shall specify in the information referred to in paragraph 2 the official language or languages of the Member States which, in addition to a language broadly understood by the largest possible number of Union citizens, can be used to communicate with their points of contact, and which shall include at least one of the official languages of the Member State in which the provider of intermediary_services has its main establishment or where its legal representative resides or is established.

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.

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:

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.

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:

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:

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.

1.   Where a provider of an online_platform allowing consumers to conclude distance_contracts with traders becomes aware, irrespective of the means used, that an illegal product or service has been offered by a trader to consumers located in the Union through its services, that provider shall inform, insofar as it has their contact details, consumers who purchased the illegal product or service through its services of the following:

The obligation laid down in the first subparagraph shall be limited to purchases of illegal products or services made within the six months preceding the moment that the provider became aware of the illegality.

2.   Where, in the situation referred to in paragraph 1, the provider of the online_platform allowing consumers to conclude distance_contracts with traders does not have the contact details of all consumers concerned, that provider shall make publicly available and easily accessible on its online_interface the information concerning the illegal product or service, the identity of the trader and any relevant means of redress.

1.   Providers of very large online_platforms and of very large online_search_engines shall be subject, at their own expense and at least once a year, to independent audits to assess compliance with the following:

2.   Providers of very large online_platforms and of very large online_search_engines shall afford the organisations carrying out the audits pursuant to this Article the cooperation and assistance necessary to enable them to conduct those audits in an effective, efficient and timely manner, including by giving them access to all relevant data and premises and by answering oral or written questions. They shall refrain from hampering, unduly influencing or undermining the performance of the audit.

Such audits shall ensure an adequate level of confidentiality and professional secrecy in respect of the information obtained from the providers of very large online_platforms and of very large online_search_engines and third parties in the context of the audits, including after the termination of the audits. However, complying with that requirement shall not adversely affect the performance of the audits and other provisions of this Regulation, in particular those on transparency, supervision and enforcement. Where necessary for the purpose of the transparency reporting pursuant to Article 42(4), the audit report and the audit implementation report referred to in paragraphs 4 and 6 of this Article shall be accompanied with versions that do not contain any information that could reasonably be considered to be confidential.

3.   Audits performed pursuant to paragraph 1 shall be performed by organisations which:

4.   Providers of very large online_platforms and of very large online_search_engines shall ensure that the organisations that perform the audits establish an audit report for each audit. That report shall be substantiated, in writing, and shall include at least the following:

5.   Where the organisation performing the audit was unable to audit certain specific elements or to express an audit opinion based on its investigations, the audit report shall include an explanation of the circumstances and the reasons why those elements could not be audited.

6.   Providers of very large online_platforms or of very large online_search_engines receiving an audit report that is not ‘positive’ shall take due account of the operational recommendations addressed to them with a view to take the necessary measures to implement them. They shall, within one month from receiving those recommendations, adopt an audit implementation report setting out those measures. Where they do not implement the operational recommendations, they shall justify in the audit implementation report the reasons for not doing so and set out any alternative measures that they have taken to address any instances of non-compliance identified.

7.   The Commission is empowered to adopt delegated acts in accordance with Article 87 to supplement this Regulation by laying down the necessary rules for the performance of the audits pursuant to this Article, in particular as regards the necessary rules on the procedural steps, auditing methodologies and reporting templates for the audits performed pursuant to this Article. Those delegated acts shall take into account any voluntary auditing standards referred to in Article 44(1), point (e).

1.   Providers of very large online_platforms or of very large online_search_engines shall provide the Digital_Services_Coordinator_of_establishment or the Commission, at their reasoned request and within a reasonable period specified in that request, access to data that are necessary to monitor and assess compliance with this Regulation.

2.   Digital Services Coordinators and the Commission shall use the data accessed pursuant to paragraph 1 only for the purpose of monitoring and assessing compliance with this Regulation and shall take due account of the rights and interests of the providers of very large online_platforms or of very large online_search_engines and the recipients of the service concerned, including the protection of personal data, the protection of confidential information, in particular trade secrets, and maintaining the security of their service.

3.   For the purposes of paragraph 1, providers of very large online_platforms or of very large online_search_engines shall, at the request of either the Digital Service Coordinator of establishment or of the Commission, explain the design, the logic, the functioning and the testing of their algorithmic systems, including their recommender_systems.

4.   Upon a reasoned request from the Digital_Services_Coordinator_of_establishment, providers of very large online_platforms or of very large online_search_engines shall, within a reasonable period, as specified in the request, provide access to data to vetted researchers who meet the requirements in paragraph 8 of this Article, for the sole purpose of conducting research that contributes to the detection, identification and understanding of systemic risks in the Union, as set out pursuant to Article 34(1), and to the assessment of the adequacy, efficiency and impacts of the risk mitigation measures pursuant to Article 35.

5.   Within 15 days following receipt of a request as referred to in paragraph 4, providers of very large online_platforms or of very large online_search_engines may request the Digital_Services_Coordinator_of_establishment, to amend the request, where they consider that they are unable to give access to the data requested because one of following two reasons:

6.   Requests for amendment pursuant to paragraph 5 shall contain proposals for one or more alternative means through which access may be provided to the requested data or other data which are appropriate and sufficient for the purpose of the request.

The Digital_Services_Coordinator_of_establishment shall decide on the request for amendment within 15 days and communicate to the provider of the very large online_platform or of the very large online_search_engine its decision and, where relevant, the amended request and the new period to comply with the request.

7.   Providers of very large online_platforms or of very large online_search_engines shall facilitate and provide access to data pursuant to paragraphs 1 and 4 through appropriate interfaces specified in the request, including online databases or application programming interfaces.

8.   Upon a duly substantiated application from researchers, the Digital_Services_Coordinator_of_establishment shall grant such researchers the status of ‘vetted researchers’ for the specific research referred to in the application and issue a reasoned request for data access to a provider of very large online_platform or of very large online_search_engine a pursuant to paragraph 4, where the researchers demonstrate that they meet all of the following conditions:

Upon receipt of the application pursuant to this paragraph, the Digital_Services_Coordinator_of_establishment shall inform the Commission and the Board.

9.   Researchers may also submit their application to the Digital Services Coordinator of the Member State of the research organisation to which they are affiliated. Upon receipt of the application pursuant to this paragraph the Digital Services Coordinator shall conduct an initial assessment as to whether the respective researchers meet all of the conditions set out in paragraph 8. The respective Digital Services Coordinator shall subsequently send the application, together with the supporting documents submitted by the respective researchers and the initial assessment, to the Digital_Services_Coordinator_of_establishment. The Digital_Services_Coordinator_of_establishment shall take a decision whether to award a researcher the status of ‘vetted researcher’ without undue delay.

While taking due account of the initial assessment provided, the final decision to award a researcher the status of ‘vetted researcher’ lies within the competence of Digital_Services_Coordinator_of_establishment, pursuant to paragraph 8.

10.   The Digital Services Coordinator that awarded the status of vetted researcher and issued the reasoned request for data access to the providers of very large online_platforms or of very large online_search_engines in favour of a vetted researcher shall issue a decision terminating the access if it determines, following an investigation either on its own initiative or on the basis of information received from third parties, that the vetted researcher no longer meets the conditions set out in paragraph 8, and shall inform the provider of the very large online_platform or of the very large online_search_engine concerned of the decision. Before terminating the access, the Digital Services Coordinator shall allow the vetted researcher to react to the findings of its investigation and to its intention to terminate the access.

11.   Digital Services Coordinators of establishment shall communicate to the Board the names and contact information of the natural persons or entities to which they have awarded the status of ‘vetted researcher’ in accordance with paragraph 8, as well as the purpose of the research in respect of which the application was made or, where they have terminated the access to the data in accordance with paragraph 10, communicate that information to the Board.

12.   Providers of very large online_platforms or of very large online_search_engines shall give access without undue delay to data, including, where technically possible, to real-time data, provided that the data is publicly accessible in their online_interface by researchers, including those affiliated to not for profit bodies, organisations and associations, who comply with the conditions set out in paragraph 8, points (b), (c), (d) and (e), and who use the data solely for performing research that contributes to the detection, identification and understanding of systemic risks in the Union pursuant to Article 34(1).

13.   The Commission shall, after consulting the Board, adopt delegated acts supplementing this Regulation by laying down the technical conditions under which providers of very large online_platforms or of very large online_search_engines are to share data pursuant to paragraphs 1 and 4 and the purposes for which the data may be used. Those delegated acts shall lay down the specific conditions under which such sharing of data with researchers can take place in compliance with Regulation (EU) 2016/679, as well as relevant objective indicators, procedures and, where necessary, independent advisory mechanisms in support of sharing of data, taking into account the rights and interests of the providers of very large online_platforms or of very large online_search_engines and the recipients of the service concerned, including the protection of confidential information, in particular trade secrets, and maintaining the security of their service.

1.   Providers of very large online_platforms or of very large online_search_engines shall establish a compliance function, which is independent from their operational functions and composed of one or more compliance officers, including the head of the compliance function. That compliance function shall have sufficient authority, stature and resources, as well as access to the management body of the provider of the very large online_platform or of the very large online_search_engine to monitor the compliance of that provider with this Regulation.

2.   The management body of the provider of the very large online_platform or of the very large online_search_engine shall ensure that compliance officers have the professional qualifications, knowledge, experience and ability necessary to fulfil the tasks referred to in paragraph 3.

The management body of the provider of the very large online_platform or of the very large online_search_engine shall ensure that the head of the compliance function is an independent senior manager with distinct responsibility for the compliance function.

The head of the compliance function shall report directly to the management body of the provider of the very large online_platform or of the very large online_search_engine, and may raise concerns and warn that body where risks referred to in Article 34 or non-compliance with this Regulation affect or may affect the provider of the very large online_platform or of the very large online_search_engine concerned, without prejudice to the responsibilities of the management body in its supervisory and managerial functions.

The head of the compliance function shall not be removed without prior approval of the management body of the provider of the very large online_platform or of the very large online_search_engine.

3.   Compliance officers shall have the following tasks:

4.   Providers of very large online_platforms or of very large online_search_engines shall communicate the name and contact details of the head of the compliance function to the Digital_Services_Coordinator_of_establishment and to the Commission.

5.   The management body of the provider of the very large online_platform or of the very large online_search_engine shall define, oversee and be accountable for the implementation of the provider's governance arrangements that ensure the independence of the compliance function, including the division of responsibilities within the organisation of the provider of very large online_platform or of very large online_search_engine, the prevention of conflicts of interest, and sound management of systemic risks identified pursuant to Article 34.

6.   The management body shall approve and review periodically, at least once a year, the strategies and policies for taking up, managing, monitoring and mitigating the risks identified pursuant to Article 34 to which the very large online_platform or the very large online_search_engine is or might be exposed to.

7.   The management body shall devote sufficient time to the consideration of the measures related to risk management. It shall be actively involved in the decisions related to risk management, and shall ensure that adequate resources are allocated to the management of the risks identified in accordance with Article 34.

1.   The Board may recommend that the Commission initiate the drawing up, in accordance with paragraphs 2, 3 and 4, of voluntary crisis protocols for addressing crisis situations. Those situations shall be strictly limited to extraordinary circumstances affecting public security or public health.

2.   The Commission shall encourage and facilitate the providers of very large online_platforms, of very large online_search_engines and, where appropriate, the providers of other online_platforms or of other online_search_engines, to participate in the drawing up, testing and application of those crisis protocols. The Commission shall aim to ensure that those crisis protocols include one or more of the following measures:

3.   The Commission shall, as appropriate, involve Member States’ authorities, and may also involve Union bodies, offices and agencies in drawing up, testing and supervising the application of the crisis protocols. The Commission may, where necessary and appropriate, also involve civil society organisations or other relevant organisations in drawing up the crisis protocols.

4.   The Commission shall aim to ensure that the crisis protocols set out clearly all of the following:

5.   If the Commission considers that a crisis protocol fails to effectively address the crisis situation, or to safeguard the exercise of fundamental rights as referred to in paragraph 4, point (e), it shall request the participants to revise the crisis protocol, including by taking additional measures.

1.   Member States shall designate one or more competent authorities to be responsible for the supervision of providers of intermediary_services and enforcement of this Regulation (‘competent authorities’).

2.   Member States shall designate one of the competent authorities as their Digital Services Coordinator. The Digital Services Coordinator shall be responsible for all matters relating to supervision and enforcement of this Regulation in that Member State, unless the Member State concerned has assigned certain specific tasks or sectors to other competent authorities. The Digital Services Coordinator shall in any event be responsible for ensuring coordination at national level in respect of those matters and for contributing to the effective and consistent supervision and enforcement of this Regulation throughout the Union.

For that purpose, Digital Services Coordinators shall cooperate with each other, other national competent authorities, the Board and the Commission, without prejudice to the possibility for Member States to provide for cooperation mechanisms and regular exchanges of views between the Digital Services Coordinator and other national authorities where relevant for the performance of their respective tasks.

Where a Member State designates one or more competent authorities in addition to the Digital Services Coordinator, it shall ensure that the respective tasks of those authorities and of the Digital Services Coordinator are clearly defined and that they cooperate closely and effectively when performing their tasks.

3.   Member States shall designate the Digital Services Coordinators by 17 February 2024.

Member States shall make publicly available, and communicate to the Commission and the Board, the name of their competent authority designated as Digital Services Coordinator and information on how it can be contacted. The Member State concerned shall communicate to the Commission and the Board the name of the other competent authorities referred to in paragraph 2, as well as their respective tasks.

4.   The provisions applicable to Digital Services Coordinators set out in Articles 50, 51 and 56 shall also apply to any other competent authorities that the Member States designate pursuant to paragraph 1 of this Article.

1.   Unless the Commission has initiated an investigation for the same alleged infringement, where a Digital_Services_Coordinator_of_destination has reason to suspect that a provider of an intermediary_service has infringed this Regulation in a manner negatively affecting the recipients of the service in the Member State of that Digital Services Coordinator, it may request the Digital_Services_Coordinator_of_establishment to assess the matter and to take the necessary investigatory and enforcement measures to ensure compliance with this Regulation.

2.   Unless the Commission has initiated an investigation for the same alleged infringement, and at the request of at least three Digital Services Coordinators of destination that have reason to suspect that a specific provider of intermediary_services infringed this Regulation in a manner negatively affecting recipients of the service in their Member States, the Board may request the Digital_Services_Coordinator_of_establishment to assess the matter and take the necessary investigatory and enforcement measures to ensure compliance with this Regulation.

3.   A request pursuant to paragraph 1 or 2 shall be duly reasoned, and shall at least indicate:

4.   The Digital_Services_Coordinator_of_establishment shall take utmost account of the request pursuant to paragraphs 1 or 2 of this Article. Where it considers that it has insufficient information to act upon the request and has reasons to consider that the Digital Services Coordinator that sent the request, or the Board, could provide additional information, the Digital_Services_Coordinator_of_establishment may either request such information in accordance with Article 57 or, alternatively, may launch a joint investigation pursuant to Article 60(1) involving at least the requesting Digital Services Coordinator. The period laid down in paragraph 5 of this Article shall be suspended until that additional information is provided or until the invitation to participate in the joint investigation is refused.

5.   The Digital_Services_Coordinator_of_establishment shall, without undue delay and in any event not later than two months following receipt of the request pursuant to paragraph 1 or 2, communicate to the Digital Services Coordinator that sent the request, and the Board, the assessment of the suspected infringement and an explanation of any investigatory or enforcement measures taken or envisaged in relation thereto to ensure compliance with this Regulation.

1.   For the purposes of investigating compliance of providers of very large online_platforms and of very large online_search_engines with the obligations laid down in this Regulation, the Commission may exercise the investigatory powers laid down in this Section even before initiating proceedings pursuant to Article 66(2). It may exercise those powers on its own initiative or following a request pursuant to paragraph 2 of this Article.

2.   Where a Digital Services Coordinator has reason to suspect that a provider of a very large online_platform or of a very large online_search_engine has infringed the provisions of Section 5 of Chapter III or has systemically infringed any of the provisions of this Regulation in a manner that seriously affects recipients of the service in its Member State, it may send, through the information sharing system referred to in Article 85, a request to the Commission to assess the matter.

3.   A request pursuant to paragraph 2 shall be duly reasoned and at least indicate: