keyboard_tab Digital Service Act 2022/2065 EN
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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
- shall 41
- information 28
- crisis 20
- commission 18
- services 17
- providers 16
- traders 16
- intermediary_services 16
- trader 15
- union 15
- provider 13
- referred 13
- paragraph 12
- legal 12
- number 11
- consumers 11
- online_platforms 11
- authorities 11
- including 10
- allowing 10
- distance_contracts 9
- which 9
- member states’ 9
- service 9
- the 9
- conclude 9
- providers 9
- concerned 9
- taken 8
- pursuant 8
- large 7
- very 7
- representative 7
- accordance 7
- article 7
- protocols 7
- board 7
- this regulation 7
- online_platform 7
- address 7
- measures 6
- easily 6
- contact 6
- applicable 6
- through 6
- protocol 6
- competent 6
- digital 6
- available 6
- they 6
Article 11
Points of contact for member states’ authorities, the Commission and the Board
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.
Article 13
Legal representatives
1. Providers of intermediary_services which do not have an establishment in the Union but which offer services in the Union shall designate, in writing, a legal or natural person to act as their legal representative in one of the Member States where the provider offers its services.
2. Providers of intermediary_services shall mandate their legal representatives for the purpose of being addressed in addition to or instead of such providers, by the member states’ competent authorities, the Commission and the Board, on all issues necessary for the receipt of, compliance with and enforcement of decisions issued in relation to this Regulation. Providers of intermediary_services shall provide their legal representative with necessary powers and sufficient resources to guarantee their efficient and timely cooperation with the member states’ competent authorities, the Commission and the Board, and to comply with such decisions.
3. It shall be possible for the designated legal representative to be held liable for non-compliance with obligations under this Regulation, without prejudice to the liability and legal actions that could be initiated against the provider of intermediary_services.
4. Providers of intermediary_services shall notify the name, postal address, email address and telephone number of their legal representative to the Digital Services Coordinator in the Member State where that legal representative resides or is established. They shall ensure that that information is publicly available, easily accessible, accurate and kept up to date.
5. The designation of a legal representative within the Union pursuant to paragraph 1 shall not constitute an establishment in the Union.
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 30
Traceability of traders
1. Providers of online_platforms allowing consumers to conclude distance_contracts with traders shall ensure that traders can only use those online_platforms to promote messages on or to offer products or services to consumers located in the Union if, prior to the use of their services for those purposes, they have obtained the following information, where applicable to the trader:
| (a) | the name, address, telephone number and email address of the trader; |
| (b) | a copy of the identification document of the trader or any other electronic identification as defined by Article 3 of Regulation (EU) No 910/2014 of the European Parliament and of the Council (40); |
| (c) | the payment account details of the trader; |
| (d) | where the trader is registered in a trade register or similar public register, the trade register in which the trader is registered and its registration number or equivalent means of identification in that register; |
| (e) | a self-certification by the trader committing to only offer products or services that comply with the applicable rules of Union law. |
2. Upon receiving the information referred to in paragraph 1 and prior to allowing the trader concerned to use its services, the provider of the online_platform allowing consumers to conclude distance_contracts with traders shall, through the use of any freely accessible official online database or online_interface made available by a Member State or the Union or through requests to the trader to provide supporting documents from reliable sources, make best efforts to assess whether the information referred to in paragraph 1, points (a) to (e), is reliable and complete. For the purpose of this Regulation, traders shall be liable for the accuracy of the information provided.
As regards traders that are already using the services of providers of online_platforms allowing consumers to conclude distance_contracts with traders for the purposes referred to in paragraph 1 on 17 February 2024, the providers shall make best efforts to obtain the information listed from the traders concerned within 12 months. Where the traders concerned fail to provide the information within that period, the providers shall suspend the provision of their services to those traders until they have provided all information.
3. Where the provider of the online_platform allowing consumers to conclude distance_contracts with traders obtains sufficient indications or has reason to believe that any item of information referred to in paragraph 1 obtained from the trader concerned is inaccurate, incomplete or not up-to-date, that provider shall request that the trader remedy that situation without delay or within the period set by Union and national law.
Where the trader fails to correct or complete that information, the provider of the online_platform allowing consumers to conclude distance_contracts with traders shall swiftly suspend the provision of its service to that trader in relation to the offering of products or services to consumers located in the Union until the request has been fully complied with.
4. Without prejudice to Article 4 of Regulation (EU) 2019/1150, if a provider of an online_platform allowing consumers to conclude distance_contracts with traders refuses to allow a trader to use its service pursuant to paragraph 1, or suspends the provision of its service pursuant to paragraph 3 of this Article, the trader concerned shall have the right to lodge a complaint as provided for in Articles 20 and 21 of this Regulation.
5. Providers of online_platforms allowing consumers to conclude distance_contracts with traders shall store the information obtained pursuant to paragraphs 1 and 2 in a secure manner for a period of six months after the end of the contractual relationship with the trader concerned. They shall subsequently delete the information.
6. Without prejudice to paragraph 2 of this Article, the provider of the online_platform allowing consumers to conclude distance_contracts with traders shall only disclose the information to third parties where so required in accordance with the applicable law, including the orders referred to in Article 10 and any orders issued by member states’ competent authorities or the Commission for the performance of their tasks under this Regulation.
7. The provider of the online_platform allowing consumers to conclude distance_contracts with traders shall make the information referred to in paragraph 1, points (a), (d) and (e) available on its online_platform to the recipients of the service in a clear, easily accessible and comprehensible manner. That information shall be available at least on the online_platform’s online_interface where the information on the product or service is presented.
Article 48
Crisis protocols
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:
| (a) | prominently displaying information on the crisis situation provided by member states’ authorities or at Union level, or, depending on the context of the crisis, by other relevant reliable bodies; |
| (b) | ensuring that the provider of intermediary_services designates a specific point of contact for crisis management; where relevant, this may be the electronic point of contact referred to in Article 11 or, in the case of providers of very large online_platforms or of very large online_search_engines, the compliance officer referred to in Article 41; |
| (c) | where applicable, adapt the resources dedicated to compliance with the obligations set out in Articles 16, 20, 22, 23 and 35 to the needs arising from the crisis situation. |
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:
| (a) | the specific parameters to determine what constitutes the specific extraordinary circumstance the crisis protocol seeks to address and the objectives it pursues; |
| (b) | the role of each participant and the measures they are to put in place in preparation and once the crisis protocol has been activated; |
| (c) | a clear procedure for determining when the crisis protocol is to be activated; |
| (d) | a clear procedure for determining the period during which the measures to be taken once the crisis protocol has been activated are to be taken, which is strictly limited to what is necessary for addressing the specific extraordinary circumstances concerned; |
| (e) | safeguards to address any negative effects on the exercise of the fundamental rights enshrined in the Charter, in particular the freedom of expression and information and the right to non-discrimination; |
| (f) | a process to publicly report on any measures taken, their duration and their outcomes, upon the termination of the crisis situation. |
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.
CHAPTER IV
IMPLEMENTATION, COOPERATION, PENALTIES AND ENFORCEMENT
SECTION 1
Competent authorities and national Digital Services Coordinators
Article 64
Development of expertise and capabilities
1. The Commission, in cooperation with the Digital Services Coordinators and the Board, shall develop Union expertise and capabilities, including, where appropriate, through the secondment of member states’ personnel.
2. In addition, the Commission, in cooperation with the Digital Services Coordinators and the Board, shall coordinate the assessment of systemic and emerging issues across the Union in relation to very large online_platforms or very large online_search_engines with regard to matters covered by this Regulation.
3. The Commission may ask the Digital Services Coordinators, the Board and other Union bodies, offices and agencies with relevant expertise to support the assessment of systemic and emerging issues across the Union under this Regulation.
4. Member States shall cooperate with the Commission, in particular through their respective Digital Services Coordinators and other competent authorities, where applicable, including by making available their expertise and capabilities.
Article 84
Professional secrecy
Without prejudice to the exchange and to the use of information referred to in this Chapter, the Commission, the Board, member states’ competent authorities and their respective officials, servants and other persons working under their supervision, and any other natural or legal person involved, including auditors and experts appointed pursuant to Article 72(2), shall not disclose information acquired or exchanged by them pursuant to this Regulation and of the kind covered by the obligation of professional secrecy.
whereas