REGIS - Reg. Intermediation Services 2019/1150 EN

1. Providers of online_intermediation_services shall set out in their terms_and_conditions the main parameters determining ranking and the reasons for the relative importance of those main parameters as opposed to other parameters.

2. Providers of online_search_engines shall set out the main parameters, which individually or collectively are most significant in determining ranking and the relative importance of those main parameters, by providing an easily and publicly available description, drafted in plain and intelligible language, on the online_search_engines of those providers. They shall keep that description up to date.

3. Where the main parameters include the possibility to influence ranking against any direct or indirect remuneration paid by business_users or corporate_website_users to the respective provider, that provider shall also set out a description of those possibilities and of the effects of such remuneration on ranking in accordance with the requirements set out in paragraphs 1 and 2.

4. Where a provider of an online_search_engine has altered the ranking order in a specific case or delisted a particular website following a third party notification, the provider shall offer the possibility for the corporate_website_user to inspect the contents of the notification.

5. The descriptions referred to in paragraphs 1, 2 and 3 shall be sufficient to enable the business_users or corporate_website_users to obtain an adequate understanding of whether, and if so how and to what extent, the ranking mechanism takes account of the following:

(a)	the characteristics of the goods and services offered to consumers through the online_intermediation_services or the online_search_engine;

(b)	the relevance of those characteristics for those consumers;

(c)	as regards online_search_engines, the design characteristics of the website used by corporate_website_users.

6. Providers of online_intermediation_services and providers of online_search_engines shall, when complying with the requirements of this Article, not be required to disclose algorithms or any information that, with reasonable certainty, would result in the enabling of deception of consumers or consumer harm through the manipulation of search results. This Article shall be without prejudice to Directive (EU) 2016/943.

7. To facilitate the compliance of providers of online_intermediation_services and providers of online_search_engines with and the enforcement of the requirements of this Article, the commission shall accompany the transparency requirements set out in this Article with guidelines.

Article 13

Specialised mediators

The commission shall, in close cooperation with the Member States, encourage providers of online_intermediation_services as well as organisations and associations representing them to, individually or jointly, set up one or more organisations providing mediation services which meet the requirements specified in Article 12(2), for the specific purpose of facilitating the out-of-court settlement of disputes with business_users arising in relation to the provision of those services, taking particular account of the cross-border nature of online_intermediation_services.

Article 14

Judicial proceedings by representative organisations or associations and by public bodies

1. Organisations and associations that have a legitimate interest in representing business_users or in representing corporate_website_users, as well as public bodies set up in Member States, shall have the right to take action before competent national courts in the Union, in accordance with the rules of the law of the Member State where the action is brought, to stop or prohibit any non-compliance by providers of online_intermediation_services or by providers of online_search_engines, with the relevant requirements laid down in this Regulation.

2. The commission shall encourage Member States to exchange best practices and information with other Member States, based on registries of unlawful acts which have been subject to injunction orders before national courts, where such registries are set up by relevant public bodies or authorities.

3. Organisations or associations shall have the right referred to in paragraph 1 only where they meet all of the following requirements:

(a)	they are properly established in accordance with the law of a Member State;

(b)	they pursue objectives that are in the collective interest of the group of business_users or corporate_website_users that they represent on a sustained basis;

(c)	they are of a non-profit making character;

(d)	their decision-making is not unduly influenced by any third party providers of financing, in particular by providers of online_intermediation_services or of online_search_engines.

To this end, organisations or associations shall fully and publicly disclose information on their membership and source of financing.

4. In Member States where public bodies have been set up, those public bodies shall have the right referred to in paragraph 1, where they are charged with defending the collective interests of business_users or corporate_website_users or with ensuring compliance with the requirements laid down in this Regulation, in accordance with the national law of the Member State concerned.

5. Member States may designate:

(a)	organisations or associations established in their Member State that meet at least the requirements of paragraph 3 at the request of those organisations or associations;

(b)	public bodies set up in their Member State that meet the requirements of paragraph 4

that are granted the right referred to in paragraph 1. Member States shall communicate to the commission the name and purpose of any such designated organisations, associations or public bodies.

6. The commission shall draw up a list of the organisations, associations and public bodies designated in accordance with paragraph 5. That list shall specify the purpose of those organisations, associations and public bodies. That list shall be published in the Official Journal of the European Union. Changes to the list shall be published without delay and, in any event, an updated list shall be drawn up and published every six months.

7. The court shall accept the list referred to in paragraph 6 as proof of the legal capacity of the organisation, association or public body, without prejudice to the court’s right to examine whether the purpose of the claimant justifies its taking action in a specific case.

8. If a Member State or the commission raises concerns regarding the compliance, by an organisation or association, with the criteria laid down in paragraph 3, or, by a public body, with the criteria laid down in paragraph 4, the Member State that designated that organisation, association or public body in accordance with paragraph 5 shall investigate the concerns and, where appropriate, revoke the designation if one or more of the criteria are not complied with.

9. The right referred to in paragraph 1 shall be without prejudice to the rights of business_users and corporate_website_users to start any action before competent national courts, in accordance with the rules of the law of the Member State where the action is brought, which is based on individual rights and aims to stop any non-compliance, by providers of online_intermediation_services or providers of online_search_engines, with the relevant requirements laid down in this Regulation.

Article 16

Monitoring

The commission, in close cooperation with Member States, shall closely monitor the impact of this Regulation on relationships between online_intermediation_services and their business_users and between online_search_engines and corporate_website_users. To this end, the commission shall gather relevant information to monitor changes in these relationships, including by carrying out relevant studies. Member States shall assist the commission by providing, upon request, any relevant information gathered including about specific cases. The commission may, for the purpose of this Article and Article 18, seek to gather information from providers of online_intermediation_services.

Article 17

Codes of conduct

1. The commission shall encourage the drawing up of codes of conduct by providers of online_intermediation_services and by organisations and associations representing them, together with business_users, including SMEs and their representative organisations, that are intended to contribute to the proper application of this Regulation, taking account of the specific features of the various sectors in which online_intermediation_services are provided, as well as of the specific characteristics of SMEs.

2. The commission shall encourage providers of online_search_engines and organisations and associations representing them to draw up codes of conduct that are specifically intended to contribute to the proper application of Article 5.

3. The commission shall encourage the providers of online_intermediation_services to adopt and implement sector-specific codes of conduct, where such sector-specific codes of conduct exist and are widely used.

Article 18

Review

1. By 13 January 2022, and subsequently every three years, the commission shall evaluate this Regulation and report to the European Parliament, the Council and the European Economic and Social Committee.

2. The first evaluation of this Regulation shall be carried out, in particular, with a view to the following:

(a)	assessing the compliance with, and impact on the online platform economy of, the obligations laid down in Articles 3 to 10;

(b)	assessing the impact and effectiveness of any established codes of conduct to improve fairness and transparency;

(c)	investigating further the problems caused by the dependence of business_users on online_intermediation_services, and problems caused by unfair commercial practices by providers of online_intermediation_services, and to determine further to which extent those practices continue to be widespread;

(d)

investigating whether the competition between goods or services offered by a business_user and goods or services offered or controlled by a provider of online_intermediation_services constitutes fair competition and whether providers of online_intermediation_services misuse privileged data in this regard;

(e)	assessing the effect of this Regulation on any possible imbalances in the relationships between providers of operating systems and their business_users;

(f)	assessing whether the scope of the Regulation, especially as regards the definition of ‘business user’, is suitable in that it does not encourage bogus self-employment.

The first and subsequent evaluations shall establish whether additional rules, including regarding enforcement, may be required to ensure a fair, predictable, sustainable and trusted online business environment within the internal market. Following the evaluations, the commission shall take appropriate measures, which may include legislative proposals.

3. Member States shall provide any relevant information they have that the commission may require for the purposes of drawing up the report referred to in paragraph 1.

4. In carrying out the evaluation of this Regulation, the commission shall take into account inter alia, the opinions and reports presented to it by the group of experts for the Observatory on the Online Platform Economy. It shall also take into account the content and functioning of any codes of conduct referred to in Article 17, where appropriate.

Article 19

Entry into force and application

1. This Regulation shall enter into force on the twentieth day following that of its publication in the Official Journal of the European Union.

2. It shall apply from 12 July 2020.

This Regulation shall be binding in its entirety and directly applicable in all Member States.

Done at Brussels, 20 June 2019.

For the European Parliament

The President

A. TAJANI

For the Council

The President

G. CIAMBA

(1) OJ C 440, 6.12.2018, p. 177.

(2) Position of the European Parliament of 17 April 2019 (not yet published in the Official Journal) and Decision of the Council of 14 June 2019.

(3) Regulation (EU) No 1215/2012 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 12 December 2012 on jurisdiction and the recognition and enforcement of judgments in civil and commercial matters (OJ L 351, 20.12.2012, p. 1).

(4) Regulation (EC) No 593/2008 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 17 June 2008 on the law applicable to contractual obligations (Rome I) (OJ L 177, 4.7.2008, p. 6).

(5) Directive (EU) 2016/943 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 8 June 2016 on the protection of undisclosed know-how and business information (trade secrets) against their unlawful acquisition, use and disclosure (OJ L 157, 15.6.2016, p. 1).

(6) Regulation (EU) 2016/679 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 27 April 2016 on the protection of natural persons with regard to the processing of personal data and on the free movement of such data, and repealing Directive 95/46/EC (General Data Protection Regulation) (OJ L 119, 4.5.2016, p. 1).

(7) Directive (EU) 2016/680 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 27 April 2016 on the protection of natural persons with regard to the processing of personal data by competent authorities for the purposes of the prevention, investigation, detection or prosecution of criminal offences or the execution of criminal penalties, and on the free movement of such data, and repealing Council Framework Decision 2008/977/JHA (OJ L 119, 4.5.2016, p. 89).

(8) Directive 2002/58/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 12 July 2002 concerning the processing of personal data and the protection of privacy in the electronic communications sector (Directive on privacy and electronic communications) (OJ L 201, 31.7.2002, p. 37).

(9) commission Recommendation 2003/361/EC of 6 May 2003 concerning the definition of micro, small and medium-sized enterprises (OJ L 124, 20.5.2003, p. 36).

(10) Directive 2008/52/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 21 May 2008 on certain aspects of mediation in civil and commercial matters (OJ L 136, 24.5.2008, p. 3).

(11) Council Decision 2010/48/EC of 26 November 2009 concerning the conclusion, by the European Community, of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (OJ L 23, 27.1.2010, p. 37).

(12) Directive (EU) 2015/1535 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 9 September 2015 laying down a procedure for the provision of information in the field of technical regulations and of rules on Information Society services (OJ L 241, 17.9.2015, p. 1).

(13) Council Regulation (EC) No 139/2004 of 20 January 2004 on the control of concentrations between undertakings (the EC Merger Regulation) (OJ L 24, 29.1.2004, p. 1).

whereas

(28) The commission should develop guidelines to assist providers of online_intermediation_services and providers of online_search_engines in applying the ranking transparency requirements laid down by this Regulation.
This effort should help to optimise the manner in which the main parameters determining ranking are identified and presented to business_users and corporate_website_users.

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(38) The requirements of this Regulation regarding the internal complaint-handling systems aim to allow providers of online_intermediation_services a reasonable degree of flexibility when operating those systems and addressing individual complaints, so as to minimise any administrative burden.
In addition, the internal complaint-handling systems should allow providers of online_intermediation_services to address, where necessary, in a proportionate manner any use in bad faith which certain business_users might seek to make of those systems.
In light of the costs of setting up and operating such systems, it is appropriate to exempt from those obligations any providers of online_intermediation_services which constitute small enterprises, in line with the relevant provisions of commission Recommendation 2003/361/EC (9).
The consolidation rules laid down in that Recommendation ensure that any circumvention is prevented.
That exemption should not affect the right of such enterprises to set up, on a voluntary basis, an internal complaint-handling system that complies with the criteria set out in this Regulation.

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(43) In order to facilitate the settlement of disputes relating to the provision of online_intermediation_services using mediation in the Union, the commission should, in close cooperation with the Member States, encourage the setting up of specialised mediation organisations, which are currently lacking.
The involvement of mediators having specialist knowledge of online_intermediation_services as well as of the specific industry sectors within which those services are provided should add to the confidence both parties have in the mediation process and should increase the likelihood of that process leading to a swift, just and satisfactory outcome.

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(45) The identity of organisations, associations and public bodies which, in the view of the Member States, should be qualified to bring an action under this Regulation, should be communicated to the commission.
In the course of such a communication, Member States should make specific reference to the relevant national provisions according to which the organisation, association or public body was established and, where appropriate, refer to the relevant public register in which the organisation or association is registered.
This additional option of a designation by Member States should provide for a certain level of legal certainty and predictability that business_users and corporate_website_users can rely on.
At the same time, it aims at making judicial procedures more efficient and shorter, which seems appropriate in this context.
The commission should ensure the publication of a list of those organisations, associations and public bodies in the Official Journal of the European Union.
Inclusion on that list should serve as refutable proof of the legal capacity of the organisation, association or public body bringing the action.
Where there are any concerns regarding a designation, the Member State which designated an organisation, association or public body should investigate those concerns.
Organisations, associations and public bodies that are not designated by a Member State should have the possibility to bring an action before national courts subject to examination of legal capacity according to the criteria set out in this Regulation.

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(47) The commission should continuously monitor the application of this Regulation in close cooperation with the Member States.
In this context, the commission should aim to establish a broad information exchange network by leveraging relevant expert bodies, centres of excellence as well as the Observatory on the Online Platform Economy.
Member States should, upon request, provide any relevant information they have in this context to the commission.
Finally, this exercise should benefit from the overall enhanced transparency in commercial relations between business_users and providers of online_intermediation_services and between corporate_website_users and online_search_engines that this Regulation aims to achieve.
In order to carry out its monitoring and review duties effectively under this Regulation, the commission should endeavour to gather information from providers of online_intermediation_services.
Providers of online_intermediation_services should cooperate in good faith in facilitating the gathering of such data, where applicable.

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(49) The commission should periodically evaluate this Regulation and closely monitor its effects on the online platform economy, in particular with a view to determining the need for amendments in light of relevant technological or commercial developments.
This evaluation should include the effects on business_users which might result from the general use of exclusive choice of law and forum provisions in terms_and_conditions which are unilaterally determined by the provider of online_intermediation_services.
In order to obtain a broad view of developments in the sector, the evaluation should take into account the experiences of Member States and relevant stakeholders.
The group of experts for the Observatory on the Online Platform Economy established in accordance with the commission Decision C(2018)2393 has a key role in informing the evaluation of this Regulation by the commission.
The commission should therefore duly consider the opinions and reports presented to it by the group.
Following the evaluation, the commission should take appropriate measures.
Further measures, including of a legislative nature, may be appropriate if and where the provisions established in this Regulation prove to be insufficient to adequately address imbalances and unfair commercial practices persisting in the sector.

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keyboard_tab REGIS - Reg. Intermediation Services 2019/1150 EN

REGIS - Reg. Intermediation Services 2019/1150 EN