keyboard_tab REGIS - Reg. Intermediation Services 2019/1150 EN

• 2 Article 3 Terms and conditions
• 1 Article 5 Ranking
• 1 Article 7 Differentiated treatment
• 2 Article 8 Specific contractual terms
• 1 Article 9 Access to data
• 2 Article 10 Restrictions to offer different conditions through other means
• 1 Article 11 Internal complaint-handling system
• 1 Article 18 Review
• Article 19 Entry into force and application

• services 69
• online 66
• intermediation 49
• shall 49
• business 48
• users 38
• which 33
• provider 25
• conditions 23
• data 20
• user 17
• terms 17
• through 16
• providers 16
• search 15
• article 15
• notice 13
• information 13
• goods 13
• period 12
• consumers 12
•    providers 12
• website 12
• concerned 11
• engines 11
• include 11
• such 10
• changes 10
• they 10
• corporate 10
• access 10
• provision 10
• description 9
• whether 9
• complaints 9
• ranking 8
• main 8
• internal 8
• paragraph 7
• referred 7
• regulation 7
• offered 7
• from 6
• parameters 6
• provide 6
• system 6
•    the 6
• generated 6
• ensure 6
• under 6

In order to ensure that contractual relations between providers of online_intermediation_services and business_users are conducted in good faith and based on fair dealing, providers of online_intermediation_services shall:

• (11) Examples of online_intermediation_services covered by this Regulation should consequently include online e-commerce market places, including collaborative ones on which business_users are active, online software applications services, such as application stores, and online social media services, irrespective of the technology used to provide such services.

    In this sense, online_intermediation_services could also be provided by means of voice assistant technology.

    It should also not be relevant whether those transactions between business_users and consumers involve any monetary payment or whether they are concluded in part offline.

    However, this Regulation should not apply to peer-to-peer online_intermediation_services without the presence of business_users, pure business-to-business online_intermediation_services which are not offered to consumers, online advertising tools and online advertising exchanges which are not provided with the aim of facilitating the initiation of direct transactions and which do not involve a contractual relationship with consumers.

    For the same reason, search engine optimisation software services as well as services which revolve around advertising-blocking software should not be covered by this Regulation.

    Technological functionalities and interfaces that merely connect hardware and applications should not be covered by this Regulation, as they normally do not fulfil the requirements for online_intermediation_services.

    However, such functionalities or interfaces can be directly connected or ancillary to certain online_intermediation_services and where this is the case, the relevant providers of online_intermediation_services should be subject to transparency requirements related to differentiated treatment based on these functionalities and interfaces.

    This Regulation should also not apply to online payment services, since they do not themselves meet the applicable requirements but are rather inherently auxiliary to the transaction for the supply of goods and services to the consumers concerned.


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• (16) In order to ensure that business_users have sufficient clarity regarding where, and to whom, their goods or services are being marketed, providers of online_intermediation_services should ensure, towards their business_users, the transparency of any additional distribution channels and potential affiliate programmes that they might use to market those goods or services.

    Additional channels and affiliate programmes should be understood in a technologically neutral manner but could, inter alia, include other websites, apps or other online_intermediation_services used to market the goods or services offered by the business_user.


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• (17) The ownership and control of intellectual property rights online can have significant economic importance for both the providers of online_intermediation_services and their business_users.

    To ensure clarity and transparency for business_users and for their better understanding, providers of online_intermediation_services should within their terms_and_conditions include general, or more detailed, information if they so wish, regarding the overall effects, if any, of those terms_and_conditions on the ownership and control of intellectual property rights of the business_user.

    Such information could, inter alia, include information such as the general usage of logos, trademarks or brand names.


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• (22) A provider of online_intermediation_services can have legitimate reasons to decide to restrict, suspend or terminate the provision of its services to a given business_user, including by delisting individual goods or services of a given business_user or effectively removing search results.

    Short of being suspended, providers of online_intermediation_services can also restrict individual listings of business_users; for example, through their demotion or by negatively affecting a business_user’s appearance (‘dimming’) which can include lowering its ranking.

    However, given that such decisions can significantly affect the interests of the business_user concerned, they should be provided, prior to or at the time of the restriction or suspension taking effect, with a statement of reasons for that decision on a durable_medium.

    To minimise the negative impact of such decisions on business_users, providers of online_intermediation_services should also allow an opportunity to clarify the facts that led to that decision in the framework of the internal complaint-handling process, which will help the business_user, where this is possible, to re-establish compliance.

    In addition, where the provider of online_intermediation_services revokes the decision to restrict, suspend or terminate, for example because the decision was made in error or the infringement of terms_and_conditions that led to this decision was not committed in bad faith and has been remedied in a satisfactory manner, the provider should reinstate the business_user concerned without undue delay, including providing the business_user with any access to personal or other data, or both, available prior to the decision.


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• (25) The description of the main parameters determining ranking should also include an explanation of any possibility for business_users to actively influence ranking against remuneration, as well as an explanation of the relative effects thereof.

    Remuneration could, in this respect, refer to payments made with the main or sole aim to improve ranking, as well as indirect remuneration in the form of the acceptance by a business_user of additional obligations of any kind which may have this as its practical effect, such as the use of services that are ancillary or of any premium features.

    The content of the description, including the number and type of main parameters, can accordingly vary strongly depending on the specific online_intermediation_services, but should provide business_users with an adequate understanding of how the ranking mechanism takes account of the characteristics of the actual goods or services offered by the business_user, and their relevance to the consumers of the specific online_intermediation_services.

    The indicators used for measuring the quality of goods or services of business_users, the use of editors and their ability to influence the ranking of those goods or services, the amplitude of the impact of remuneration on ranking as well as elements that do not or only remotely relate to the good or service itself, such as presentational features of the online offer, could be examples of main parameters that, when included in a general description of the ranking mechanism in plain and intelligible language, should assist business_users in obtaining the required adequate understanding of its functioning.


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• (26) Similarly, the ranking of websites by the providers of online_search_engines, notably of those websites through which undertakings offer goods and services to consumers, has an important impact on consumer choice and the commercial success of corporate_website_users.

    Providers of online_search_engines should therefore provide a description of the main parameters determining the ranking of all indexed websites and the relative importance of those main parameters as opposed to other parameters, including those of corporate_website_users as well as other websites.

    In addition to the characteristics of the goods and services and their relevance for consumers, this description should in the case of online_search_engines also allow corporate_website_users to obtain an adequate understanding of whether, and if so how and to what extent, certain design characteristics of the website used, such as their optimisation for display on mobile telecommunications devices, is taken into account.

    It should also include an explanation of any possibility for corporate_website_users to actively influence ranking against remuneration, as well as an explanation of the relative effects thereof.

    In the absence of a contractual relationship between providers of online_search_engines and corporate_website_users, that description should be available to the public in an obvious and easily accessible location on the relevant online_search_engine.

    Areas of websites that require users to log in or register should not be understood as easily and publicly available in this sense.


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• (29) Ancillary goods and services should be understood as goods and services offered to the consumer immediately prior to the completion of a transaction initiated on online_intermediation_services to complement the primary good or service being offered by the business_user.

    Ancillary goods and services refer to products that typically depend on, and are directly related to, the primary good or service in order to function.

    Therefore, the term should exclude goods and services that are merely being sold in addition to the primary good or service in question rather than being complementary in their nature.

    Examples of ancillary services include repair services for a specific good or financial products such as car rental insurance offered so as to complement the specific goods or services being offered by the business_user.

    Likewise, ancillary goods might include goods that complement the specific product being offered by the business_user by constituting an upgrade or a customisation tool linked to that specific product.

    Providers of online_intermediation_services offering goods or services to consumers that are ancillary to a good or service sold by a business_user, using their online_intermediation_services, should set out in their terms_and_conditions a description of the type of ancillary_goods_and_services being offered.

    Such a description should be available in the terms_and_conditions regardless of whether the ancillary good or service is being provided by the provider of online_intermediation_services itself or by a third party.

    Such a description should be comprehensive enough to allow a business_user to understand whether any good or service is being sold as ancillary to the business_user’s good or service.

    The description should not necessarily include the specific good or service, but rather the type of product being offered as complementary to the primary product of the business_user.

    Furthermore, this description should in all circumstances include whether and under what conditions a business_user is allowed to offer its own ancillary good or service in addition to the primary good or service that it is offering through the online_intermediation_services.


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• (33) The ability to access and use data, including personal data, can enable important value creation in the online platform economy, both generally as well as for the business_users and online_intermediation_services involved.

    Accordingly, it is important that providers of online_intermediation_services provide business_users with a clear description of the scope, nature and conditions of their access to and use of certain categories of data.

    The description should be proportionate and might refer to general access conditions, rather than an exhaustive identification of actual data, or categories of data.

    However, identification of and specific access conditions to certain types of actual data that might be highly relevant to the business_users could also be included in the description.

    Such data could include ratings and reviews accumulated by business_users on the online_intermediation_services.

    Altogether, the description should enable business_users to understand whether they can use the data to enhance value creation, including by possibly retaining third-party data services.


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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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