33 Amendments of Anneleen VAN BOSSUYT related to 2018/0112(COD)
Amendment 87 #
Proposal for a regulation
Recital 6
Recital 6
(6) A uniform and targeted set of mandatory rules should therefore be established at Union level to ensure a fair, predictable, sustainable and trusted online business environment within the internal market by ensuring, in particular, that the business users of online intermediation services are afforded appropriate transparency as well as effective redress possibilities throughout the Union. Those rules should also provide for appropriate transparency as regards the ranking of corporate website users in the search results generated by online search engines. At the same, those rules should be such as to safeguardrecognise and support the important innovation potential of the wider online platform economy.
Amendment 112 #
Proposal for a regulation
Recital 9
Recital 9
(9) 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 and online social media services. However, this Regulation should not apply to online advertising serving tools or online advertising exchanges which are not provided with the aim of facilitating the initiation of direct transactions andor which do not involve a contractual relationship with consumers. 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.
Amendment 131 #
Proposal for a regulation
Recital 13
Recital 13
(13) 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 clear and unambiguous language which is easily understood by an average business user. Terms and conditions should not be considered to have been drafted in clear and unambiguous 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.
Amendment 141 #
Proposal for a regulation
Recital 14 a (new)
Recital 14 a (new)
(14a) Intermediary service providers may modify their terms and conditions in response to practices they become aware of that harm consumers in a variety of different manners. Given the huge diversity of content that business users distribute through intermediaries, such harmful practices may not always be foreseen in specific terms by the intermediary services provider. In such cases, intermediary service providers are exempted from the 15 days notice period for application of the new terms and conditions.
Amendment 156 #
Proposal for a regulation
Recital 16
Recital 16
(16) A provider of online intermediation services can have legitimate reasons to decide to suspend or terminate the provision of its services, in whole or in part, to a given business user, including by delisting individual goods or services of a given business user or effectively removing search results. However, given that such decisions can significantly affect the interests of the business user concerned, they should be properly informed of the reasons thereof. The statement of reasons should allow business users to ascertain whether there is scope to challenge the decision, thereby improving the possibilities for business users to seek effective redress where necessary. In addition, requiring a statement of reasons should help to prevent or remedy any unintended removal of online content provided by business users which the provider incorrectly considers to be illegal content, in line with Commission Recommendation (EU) No 2018/33422. The statement of reasons should identify the objective ground or grounds for the decision, based on the grounds that the provider had set out in advance in its terms and conditions, and refer in a proportionate manner to the relevant specific circumstances that led to that decision. However, such statement of reasons should not be provided if the information could help a business user suspected of performing practices that are harmful to the consumers or to the platform maintain or improve their harmful practices. _________________ 22 Commission Recommendation (EU) No 2018/334 of 1 March 2018 on measures to effectively tackle illegal content online (OJ L 63, 6.3.2018, p. 50).
Amendment 239 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 1 – paragraph 2 a (new)
Article 1 – paragraph 2 a (new)
2a. This Regulation shall apply where the terms and conditions of a contractual relationship, regardless of their name or form, are not individually negotiated by the parties to them.
Amendment 240 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 1 – paragraph 2 b (new)
Article 1 – paragraph 2 b (new)
2b. This Regulation is without prejudice to Articles 101 and 102 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union and Council Regulation (EC) No 1/2003.
Amendment 276 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 2 – paragraph 1 – point 8
Article 2 – paragraph 1 – point 8
(8) ‘ranking’ means the relative prominence in search results given to the goods or services offered to consumers by business users through online intermediation services, or to websites indexed for consumers by online search engines, as presented, organised or communicated to those consumers by the providers of online intermediation services or by providers of online search engines, respectively, irrespective of the technological means used for such presentation, organisation or communication;
Amendment 279 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 2 – paragraph 1 – point 10
Article 2 – paragraph 1 – point 10
(10) ‘terms and conditions’ means all terms, conditions, and clauses and other information, irrespective of their name or form, which govern the contractual relationship between the provider of online intermediation services and their business users and are unilaterally determined by the provider of online intermediation services.
Amendment 293 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 3 – paragraph 1 – point a
Article 3 – paragraph 1 – point a
(a) are drafted in clear and unambiguous language;
Amendment 303 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 3 – paragraph 1 – point c
Article 3 – paragraph 1 – point c
(c) set out the objective grounds for decisions to suspend or terminate, in whole or in part, the provision of their online intermediation services to business users.
Amendment 318 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 3 – paragraph 3 – subparagraph 1
Article 3 – paragraph 3 – subparagraph 1
Providers of online intermediation services shall notify to the business users concerned of any envisaged modification of their terms and conditions, except where those modifications are of a purely administrative nature and have no negative effect on the business users concerned.
Amendment 334 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 3 – paragraph 3 – subparagraph 3 a (new)
Article 3 – paragraph 3 – subparagraph 3 a (new)
During the 15 days’ notice period, business users should not be able to submit new goods, content or services to the platform unless they accept the new terms and conditions.
Amendment 347 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 3 – paragraph 5
Article 3 – paragraph 5
5. Paragraph 3 shall not apply where a provider of online intermediation services is subject to a legal obligation which requires it to modify 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 3. Paragraph 3 shall also not apply if the terms and conditions have been modified in order to protect the legitimate interests of users or the operation of the online intermediation service.
Amendment 368 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 4 – paragraph 2
Article 4 – paragraph 2
2. The statement of reasons referred to in paragraph 1 shall contain a reference to the specific facts or circumstances that led to the decision of the provider of online intermediation services, as well as a reference to the applicable objective ground or grounds for that decision referred to in Article 3(1)(c).
Amendment 388 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 5 – paragraph 1 – subparagraph 1
Article 5 – paragraph 1 – subparagraph 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.
Amendment 399 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 5 – paragraph 1 – subparagraph 2
Article 5 – paragraph 1 – subparagraph 2
Where those main parameters include the possibility to influence ranking against any direct or indirect remuneration paid by business users to the provider of online intermediation services concerned, that provider of online intermediation services shall also include in its terms and conditions a description of those possibilities and of the effects of such remuneration on ranking.
Amendment 405 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 5 – paragraph 2
Article 5 – paragraph 2
2. Providers of online search engines shall set out for corporate website users the main parameters determining ranking, by providing an easily and publicly available description, drafted in clear and unambiguous language on the online search engines of those providers. They shall keep that description up to date.
Amendment 418 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 5 – paragraph 3 – introductory part
Article 5 – paragraph 3 – introductory part
3. The descriptions referred to in paragraphs 1 and 2 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 followingthe ranking mechanism as regards:
Amendment 429 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 5 – paragraph 4
Article 5 – paragraph 4
4. 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 any trade secrets as defined in Article 2(1) of Directive (EU) 2016/943, nor any business sensitive information which could undermine the provider’s competitive advantage or facilitate the manipulation of results or the deception of customers.
Amendment 434 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 5 – paragraph 4 a (new)
Article 5 – paragraph 4 a (new)
4a. Providers of online intermediation services and providers of online search engines shall make sure that the information revealed under this Article does not result in a consumer harm following manipulation of ranking by business users and corporate business websites.
Amendment 450 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 6 – paragraph 1
Article 6 – paragraph 1
1. Providers of online intermediation services shall include in their terms and conditions a description of any material differentiated treatment which they give, or may give, in relation to, on the one hand, goods or services offered to consumers through those online intermediation services by either that provider itself or any business users which that provider controls and, on the other hand, other business users.
Amendment 553 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 9 – paragraph 1 – subparagraph 1
Article 9 – paragraph 1 – subparagraph 1
Providers of online intermediation services shall provide for an internal system for handling the complaints of business users. The decision taken by the online intermediation services provider that is the subject of the complaint shall remain in force for the duration of the internal decision-making process.
Amendment 568 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 9 – paragraph 2 – point c
Article 9 – paragraph 2 – point c
(c) communicate to the complainant the outcome of the internal complaint- handling process, in an individualised manner and drafted in clear and unambiguous in clear language.
Amendment 577 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 9 – paragraph 4 – subparagraph 1
Article 9 – paragraph 4 – subparagraph 1
Amendment 580 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 9 – paragraph 4 – subparagraph 1
Article 9 – paragraph 4 – subparagraph 1
Providers of online intermediation services shall annually establish and makeinclude in documentation easily available to the publicbusiness users information on the functioning and effectiveness of their internal complaint-handling system.
Amendment 584 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 9 – paragraph 4 – subparagraph 2
Article 9 – paragraph 4 – subparagraph 2
Amendment 588 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 9 – paragraph 4 – subparagraph 2
Article 9 – paragraph 4 – subparagraph 2
That information shall include the total number of complaints lodged, the subject- matter of themain types of complaints, the average time period needed to process the complaints and the decision taken on the complaints, whilst protecting the privacy of the business users involved.
Amendment 600 #
Providers of online intermediation services shallmay identify in their terms and conditions one or more mediators with which they are willing to engage to attempt to reach an agreement with business users on the settlement, out of court, of any disputes between the provider and the business user arising in relation to the provision of the online intermediation services concerned, including complaints that could not be resolved by means of the internal complaint-handling system referred to in Article 9.
Amendment 612 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 10 – paragraph 1 – subparagraph 2 a (new)
Article 10 – paragraph 1 – subparagraph 2 a (new)
The decision taken by the online intermediation services provider at the source of the dispute between the latter and the business user shall remain in force for the duration of the mediation process.
Amendment 620 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 10 – paragraph 3
Article 10 – paragraph 3
3. Providers of online intermediation services and business users shall engage in good faith in any attempt to reach an agreement through the mediation of any of the mediators which they identified in accordance with paragraph 1, with a view to reaching an agreement on the settlement of the dispute.
Amendment 715 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 14 – paragraph 1
Article 14 – paragraph 1
1. By [date: three years after the date of entry into forceapplication], 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.
Amendment 723 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 15 – paragraph 2
Article 15 – paragraph 2
2. It shall apply from [date: sixeighteen months following the day of its publication].