40 Amendments of Antanas GUOGA related to 2018/0112(COD)
Amendment 61 #
Proposal for a regulation
Recital 1
Recital 1
(1) Online intermediation services are key enablers of entrepreneurship, trade and innovation, which can also improve consumer welfare and which are increasingly used by both the private and public sectors. They offer access to new markets and commercial opportunities allowing undertakings to exploit the benefits of the internal market. They also allow consumers in the Union to exploit those benefits, in particular by increasing their choice of goods and services offeredas well as by offering competitive pricing online.
Amendment 63 #
Proposal for a regulation
Recital 2
Recital 2
(2) Online intermediation services can be crucialan important element for the commercial success of undertakings who use such services to reach consumers. The growing intermediation of transactions through online intermediation services, fuelled by strong data-driven indirect network effects, lead to an increased dependence of such business users, including micro, small and medium-sized enterprises, as well as large traditional business users on those services in order for them to reach consumers. Given that increasing interdependence, the providers of those services oftenmay have superior bargaining power, which enables them to effectively behave unilaterally in a way that can be unfair and that can be harmful to the legitimate interests of their businesses users or smaller providers of online intermediation services and, indirectly, also of consumers in the Union.
Amendment 71 #
Proposal for a regulation
Recital 4
Recital 4
(4) The dependence of business users on online intermediation services and vice versa also leads to a situation in which business users oftenr providers of online intermediation services may have limited possibilities to seek redress where unilateral actions of the providers of those services lead to a dispute. In manysome cases, those providers do not offer accessible and effective internal complaint- handling systems. Existing alternative out- of-court dispute settlement mechanisms can also be ineffective for a variety of reasons, including a lack of specialised mediators and business users’ fear of retaliation by smaller business users or providers of online intermediation services.
Amendment 74 #
Proposal for a regulation
Recital 5
Recital 5
(5) Online intermediation services and online search engines, as well as the commercial transactions facilitated by those services, have an intrinsic cross- border potential and are of particular importance for the proper functioning of the Union’s internal market in today’s economy. The potentially unfair and harmful trading practices of certain providers of those services in respector of business users and corporate website users who abuse a dominant position may hamper the full realisation of that potential and negatively affect the proper functioning of the internal market and the emergence of new market participants. In addition, the full realisation of that potential is hampered, and the proper functioning of the internal market is negatively affected, by diverging laws of certain Member States which, with a varying degree of effectiveness, regulate those services, while other Member States are considering adopting such laws.
Amendment 86 #
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 ofand 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 safeguard and strengthen the important innovation potential of the wider online platform economy.
Amendment 127 #
Proposal for a regulation
Recital 12
Recital 12
(12) In order to effectively protect business users where needed, this Regulation should apply whereto the terms and conditions of a contractual relationship, regardless of their name or form, are not individually negotiated by the parties to them. Whether or not terms and conditions were individually negotiated should be determined on the basis of an overall assessment, whereby the fact that certain provisions thereof may have been individually negotiated is, in itself, not decisive.
Amendment 130 #
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 unambiguousplain and intelligible language which is easily understood by an average business user. Terms and conditions should not be considered to have been drafted in clear and unambiguousplain 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.
Amendment 213 #
Proposal for a regulation
Recital 25
Recital 25
(25) Providers of online intermediation services should bear a reasonable proportion of the total costs of the mediation, taking into account all relevant elements of the case at hand. To that aim, the mediator should suggest which proportion is reasonable in the individual case. However, that proportion should never be less than half of those costs.
Amendment 231 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 1 – paragraph 1
Article 1 – paragraph 1
1. This Regulation lays down rules to ensure that business users of online intermediation services and corporate website users in relation to online search engines are granted appropriate transparency, fairness and effective redress possibilities.
Amendment 269 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 2 – paragraph 1 – point 5
Article 2 – paragraph 1 – point 5
(5) ‘online search engine’ means a digital service that allows users to perform searches of, in principle, all websites or websites in a particular language on the basis of a query on any subject in the form of a keyword, phrase or other input, and returns links in which information related to the requested content can be found;
Amendment 280 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 2 – paragraph 1 – point 10
Article 2 – paragraph 1 – point 10
(10) ‘terms and conditions’ means all terms, conditions, 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 291 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 3 – paragraph 1 – point a
Article 3 – paragraph 1 – point a
(a) are drafted in clear and unambiguousplain and intelligible language;
Amendment 302 #
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 317 #
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 any envisaged modification of their terms and conditionsthat terms and conditions have been modified.
Amendment 329 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 3 – paragraph 3 – subparagraph 2
Article 3 – paragraph 3 – subparagraph 2
The envisaged modifications shall not be implemented before the expiry of a notice period which is reasonable and proportionate to the nature and extent of the envisaged modifications 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 envisaged modifications.
Amendment 335 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 3 – paragraph 3 – subparagraph 3 a (new)
Article 3 – paragraph 3 – subparagraph 3 a (new)
During the notice period or unless the business user accepts the new terms and conditions, business users shall not be able to submit new goods, content or services to the platform.
Amendment 350 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 3 – paragraph 5 – subparagraph 1 (new)
Article 3 – paragraph 5 – subparagraph 1 (new)
5a. Without prejudice to EU and national rules concerning illegal content, if the terms and conditions have been modified in order to protect the legitimate interest of the consumers or of the provider of online intermediation services, in response to practices that can cause immediate harm to consumers, intermediary service providers or providers of operating systems shall apply a 15 days’ notice period for application of the new terms and conditions.
Amendment 354 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 4 – paragraph 1
Article 4 – paragraph 1
1. Where a provider of online intermediation services and of online search engines decides to sanction suspend or terminate, in whole or in part, the provision of its online intermediation services to a given business user, it shall provideinform the business user concerned at least 15 days before implementing that decision, and provide the business user, without undue delay, with a statement of reasons for that decision.
Amendment 361 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 4 – paragraph 1
Article 4 – paragraph 1
1. Where a provider of online intermediation services decides to suspend or terminate, in whole or in part, the provision of its online intermediation services to a given business user, it shall provideinform the business user concerned, without undue delay, with a statement of reasons for that decision.
Amendment 369 #
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 379 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 4 a (new)
Article 4 a (new)
Article 4a Article 4.1 shall not apply where a provider of online intermediation services is subject to a legal obligation to sanction, suspend, or terminate, in whole or in part, the provision of its online intermediation services to a given business, or does so in order to fight against illicit content. In such cases, the business user shall be notified without undue delay.
Amendment 381 #
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 parametmake them easily available for business users.
Amendment 397 #
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 406 #
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 unambiguousplain and intelligible language on the online search engines of those providers. They shall keep that description up to date.
Amendment 421 #
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 following:
Amendment 570 #
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 unambiguousplain and intelligible language.
Amendment 575 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 9 – paragraph 4 – subparagraph 1
Article 9 – paragraph 4 – subparagraph 1
Amendment 587 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 9 – paragraph 4 – subparagraph 2
Article 9 – paragraph 4 – subparagraph 2
Amendment 598 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 9 – paragraph 5 a (new)
Article 9 – paragraph 5 a (new)
5a. The decision which led to the complaint shall remain in force for the duration of internal decision-making process.
Amendment 624 #
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 632 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 10 – paragraph 4
Article 10 – paragraph 4
4. Providers of online intermediation services shalland business users shall each bear a reasonable proportion of the total costs of mediation in each individual case. A reasonable proportion of those total costs shall be determined, on the basis of a suggestion by the mediator, by taking into account all relevant elements of the case at hand, in particular the relative merits of the claims of the parties to the dispute, the conduct of the parties, as well as the size and financial strength of the parties relative to one another. However, providers of online intermediation services shall in any case bear at least half of the total cost.
Amendment 637 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 10 – paragraph 4 – subparagraph 1 (new)
Article 10 – paragraph 4 – subparagraph 1 (new)
Should the mediator find that the business user is acting in bad faith or is seeking to abuse the mediation process, it can decide to make the business user bear more than half of the total cost.
Amendment 656 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 12 – paragraph 1
Article 12 – paragraph 1
1. Organisations and associations qualified in advance under national collective redress mechanisms 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 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. Qualified organisations and associations shall be expressly appointed and authorised by a representative number of business users or corporate website users for each action.
Amendment 664 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 12 – paragraph 2 – subparagraph 1 – introductory part
Article 12 – paragraph 2 – subparagraph 1 – introductory part
Organisations or associations shall have the right referred to in paragraph 1 only where, at the time of bringing the action, they and for the duration of the action, they continue to meet all of the following requirements:
Amendment 669 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 12 – paragraph 2 – subparagraph 1 – point a
Article 12 – paragraph 2 – subparagraph 1 – point a
(a) they are properly constituted according to the law of a Member State which allows them to bring a claim;
Amendment 674 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 12 – paragraph 2 – subparagraph 1 – point b
Article 12 – paragraph 2 – subparagraph 1 – point b
(b) they pursue objectives that are in the collective interest of the group of a majority of business users or corporate website users that they represent;
Amendment 681 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 12 – paragraph 2 – subparagraph 1 – point c a (new)
Article 12 – paragraph 2 – subparagraph 1 – point c a (new)
(ca) They comply with all the codes of ethics and conduct of the public body issuing their license, and demonstrably act in accordance with the wider public interest;
Amendment 703 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 13 – paragraph 2 – subparagraph 1 (new)
Article 13 – paragraph 2 – subparagraph 1 (new)
The Commission shall encourage the drawing up of codes of conduct by providers of operating systems and by organisations and associations representing them, intended to contribute to the proper application of this Regulation.
Amendment 714 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 14 – paragraph 1
Article 14 – paragraph 1
1. By [date: threewo years after the date of entry into force], 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 726 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 15 – paragraph 2
Article 15 – paragraph 2
2. It shall apply from [date: sixtwelve months following the day of its publication].