REGIS - Reg. Intermediation Services 2019/1150 EN

(b)	are easily available to business_users at all stages of their commercial relationship with the provider of online_intermediation_services, including in the pre-contractual stage;

(c)	set out the grounds for decisions to suspend or terminate or impose any other kind of restriction upon, in whole or in part, the provision of their online_intermediation_services to business_users;

(d)	include information on any additional distribution channels and potential affiliate programmes through which providers of online_intermediation_services might market goods and services offered by business_users;

(e)	include general information regarding the effects of the terms_and_conditions on the ownership and control of intellectual property rights of business_users.

2. Providers of online_intermediation_services shall notify, on a durable_medium, to the business_users concerned any proposed changes of their terms_and_conditions.

The proposed changes shall not be implemented before the expiry of a notice period which is reasonable and proportionate to the nature and extent of the envisaged changes and to their consequences for the business_user concerned. That notice period shall be at least 15 days from the date on which the provider of online_intermediation_services notifies the business_users concerned about the proposed changes. Providers of online_intermediation_services shall grant longer notice periods when this is necessary to allow business_users to make technical or commercial adaptations to comply with the changes.

The business_user concerned shall have the right to terminate the contract with the provider of online_intermediation_services before the expiry of the notice period. Such termination shall take effect within 15 days from the receipt of the notice pursuant to the first subparagraph, unless a shorter period applies to the contract.

The business_user concerned may, either by means of a written statement or a clear affirmative action, waive the notice period referred to in the second subparagraph at any moment from the receipt of the notice pursuant to the first subparagraph.

During the notice period, submitting new goods or services to the online_intermediation_services shall be considered clear affirmative action to waive the notice period, except in cases where the reasonable and proportionate notice period is longer than 15 days because the changes to the terms_and_conditions require the business_user to make significant technical adjustments to its goods or services. In such cases, the notice period shall not be considered automatically to be waived where the business_user submits new goods and services.

3. Terms and conditions, or specific provisions thereof, which do not comply with the requirements of paragraph 1, as well as changes to terms_and_conditions implemented by a provider of online_intermediation_services contrary to the provisions of paragraph 2 shall be null and void.

4. The notice period set out in the second subparagraph of paragraph 2 shall not apply where a provider of online_intermediation_services:

(a)	is subject to a legal or regulatory obligation which requires it to change its terms_and_conditions in a manner which does not allow it to respect the notice period referred to in the second subparagraph of paragraph 2;

(b)	has exceptionally to change its terms_and_conditions to address an unforeseen and imminent danger related to defending the online_intermediation_services, consumers or business_users from fraud, malware, spam, data breaches or other cybersecurity risks.

5. Providers of online_intermediation_services shall ensure that the identity of the business_user providing the goods or services on the online_intermediation_services is clearly visible.

Article 5

Ranking

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 11

Internal complaint-handling system

1. Providers of online_intermediation_services shall provide for an internal system for handling the complaints of business_users.

That internal complaint-handling system shall be easily accessible and free of charge for business_users and shall ensure handling within a reasonable time frame. It shall be based on the principles of transparency and equal treatment applied to equivalent situations, and treating complaints in a manner which is proportionate to their importance and complexity. It shall allow business_users to lodge complaints directly with the provider concerned regarding any of the following issues:

(a)	alleged non-compliance by that provider with any obligations laid down in this Regulation which affects the business_user lodging the complaint (‘the complainant’);

(b)	technological issues which relate directly to the provision of online_intermediation_services, and which affect the complainant;

(c)	measures taken by, or behaviour of, that provider which relate directly to the provision of the online_intermediation_services, and which affect the complainant.

2. As part of their internal complaint-handling system, providers of online_intermediation_services shall:

(a)	duly consider complaints lodged and the follow-up which they may need to give to the complaint in order to adequately address the issue raised;

(b)	process complaints swiftly and effectively, taking into account the importance and complexity of the issue raised;

(c)	communicate to the complainant the outcome of the internal complaint-handling process, in an individualised manner and drafted in plain and intelligible language.

3. Providers of online_intermediation_services shall provide in their terms_and_conditions all relevant information relating to the access to and functioning of their internal complaint-handling system.

4. Providers of online_intermediation_services shall establish and make easily available to the public information on the functioning and effectiveness of their internal complaint-handling system. They shall verify the information at least annually and where significant changes are needed, they shall update that information.

That information shall include the total number of complaints lodged, the main types of complaints, the average time period needed to process the complaints and aggregated information regarding the outcome of the complaints.

5. The provisions of this Article shall not apply to providers of online_intermediation_services that are small enterprises within the meaning of the Annex to Recommendation 2003/361/EC.

whereas

(15) To ensure that the general terms_and_conditions of a contractual relationship enable business_users to determine the commercial conditions for the use, termination and suspension of online_intermediation_services, and to achieve predictability regarding their business relationship, those terms_and_conditions should be drafted in plain and intelligible language.
Terms and conditions should not be considered to have been drafted in plain and intelligible language where they are vague, unspecific or lack detail on important commercial issues and thus fail to give business_users a reasonable degree of predictability on the most important aspects of the contractual relationship.
Moreover, misleading language should not be considered to be plain and intelligible.

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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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keyboard_tab REGIS - Reg. Intermediation Services 2019/1150 EN

REGIS - Reg. Intermediation Services 2019/1150 EN