85 Amendments of Dario TAMBURRANO related to 2018/0112(COD)
Amendment 76 #
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 respect of business users and corporate website users and the lack of adequate EU redress mechanisms hamper the full realisation of that potential and negatively affect the proper functioning of the internal market. 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 93 #
Proposal for a regulation
Recital 7 a (new)
Recital 7 a (new)
(7a) This Regulation should be without prejudice to Union law concerning judicial cooperation in civil matters, in particular the provisions regarding the law applicable to contractual obligations and jurisdiction contained Regulation (EC) No 593/2008 and Regulation (EU) No 1215/2012. In particular, the mere fact that an online intermediation service or search engine complies with this Regulation should not be interpreted as meaning that it directs activities to the Member State of the business users and corporate website users under Article 6(1)(b) of Regulation (EC) No 593/2008 and Article 17 (1)( c) of Regulation (EU) No 1215/2012. Hence, for the purposes of determining applicable law and jurisdiction, the mere fact that an online intermediation service interface or search engine is accessible to business users and corporate website users established or resident in the Union should not be considered per se as equivalent to directing activities to Union territory. Likewise, an online intermediation service or search engine should not, for these reasons alone, be considered as directing activities to Union territory where business users and corporate website users are established or resident, where they provide information and assistance following conclusion of the contract in accordance with the obligations of an online intermediation service or search engine provider.
Amendment 100 #
Proposal for a regulation
Recital 8
Recital 8
(8) A wide variety of business-to- consumer commercial relations are intermediated online by providers operating multi-sided services that are essentially based on the same ecosystem- building business model. In order to capture the relevant services, online intermediation services should be defined in a precise and technologically-neutral manner. In particular, the services should consist of information society services, which are characterised by the fact that they aim to facilitate the initiating of direct transactions between business users and consumers, irrespective of whether the transactions are ultimately concluded either online, on the online portal of the provider of the online intermediation services in question or that of the business user, or offline. In addition, the services should be provided on the basis of contractual relationships both between the providers and business users and between the providers and theoffering goods and services to consumers. Such a contractual relationship should be deemed to exist where both parties concerned express their intention to be bound in an unequivocal and verifiable manner, without an express written agreement necessarily being required.
Amendment 105 #
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, online intermediation services linking hardware and applications, text and voice search and assistance 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 and 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 128 #
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 139 #
Proposal for a regulation
Recital 14
Recital 14
(14) Ensuring transparency in the general terms and conditions can be essential to promoting sustainable business relationships and to preventing unfair behaviour to the detriment of business users. Providers of online intermediation services should therefore also ensure that the terms and conditions are made public and easily available at all stages of the contractual relationship, including to prospective business users at the pre- contractual phase, and that any modifications to those terms are notified to business users within a set notice period which is reasonable and proportionate in light of the specific circumstances and which is at least 15 days. That notice period should not apply where, and to the extent that, it is waived in an unambiguous manner by the business user concerned or where, and to the extent that, the need to implement the modification without respecting the notice period stems from a legal obligation incumbent on the service provider under Union or national law. However, mere changes to the wording that do not alter the content or meaning of the terms and conditions are not covered by the definition of ‘change’.
Amendment 144 #
Proposal for a regulation
Recital 15
Recital 15
(15) In order to protect business users it should be possible for a competent court to establish that non-compliant terms and conditions are not binding on the business user concerneinvalid, with effects ex nunc. Any such finding by a court should however only concern the specific provisions of the terms and conditions which are not compliant. The remaining provisions should remain valid and enforceable, in as far as they can be severed from the non- compliant provisions. Sudden modifications to existing terms and conditions may significantly disrupt business users’ operations. In order to limit such negative effects on business users, and to discourage such behaviour, modifications made in contravention of the obligation to provide a set notice period, should therefore be null and void, that is, deemed to have never existed with effects erga omnes and ex tunc.
Amendment 150 #
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, altering the ranking, or effectively removing search results. Such decisions must in no way undermine competition on the market in which intermediation service providers or the services controlled by them operate. 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. _________________ 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 158 #
Proposal for a regulation
Recital 16 a (new)
Recital 16 a (new)
(16a) Transparency vis-à-vis business users should also be ensured in respect of the relationship between intermediation and search engine service providers and the additional distribution channels. If the latter fall short of intermediation service standards and compromise the user’s activity, the business user must have the right to withhold the product from sale through those channels.
Amendment 161 #
Proposal for a regulation
Recital 17
Recital 17
(17) The ranking of goods and services by the providers of online intermediation services has an important impact on consumer choice and, consequently, on the commercial success of the business users offering those goods and services to consumers. Providers of online intermediation services should therefore outline the main parametersclearly and unequivocally the main parameters and the weighting used to determininge ranking beforehand, in order to improve predictability for business users, to allow them to better understand the functioning of the ranking mechanism and to enable them to compare the ranking practices of various providers. The notion of main parameter should be understood to refer to any general criteria, processes, specific signals incorporated into algorithms or other adjustment or demotion mechanisms used in connection with the ranking. The description of the main parameters and the weighting used to determininge ranking should also include an explanation of any possibility for business users to actively influence ranking against remuneration, as well as of the relative effects thereof. This description 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.
Amendment 166 #
Proposal for a regulation
Recital 18
Recital 18
(18) 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 clear and unequivocal description of the main parameters and the weighting used to determininge the ranking of all indexed websites, 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. 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. To ensure predictability for corporate website users, the description should also be kept up to date, including the possibility that any changes to the main parameters or their weighting used to determine the ranking should be made easily identifiable. Whilst the providers are under no circumstances required to disclose any trade secrets as defined in Directive (EU) 2016/943 of the European Parliament and of the Council23 when complying with this requirement to disclose the main ranking parameters and their weighting used to determine the ranking, the description given should at least be based on actual data on the relevance of the ranking parameters used and their weighting. _________________ 23 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).
Amendment 173 #
Proposal for a regulation
Recital 18 a (new)
Recital 18 a (new)
(18a) In order to facilitate the implementation of the Regulation, online intermediation service and search engine providers must designate a person responsible for the parameters used to determine the ranking of business users and their respective weighting. The online intermediation service and search engine providers must provide business users with the contact details of the person responsible.
Amendment 176 #
Proposal for a regulation
Recital 19
Recital 19
(19) Where a provider of online intermediationor search engine services itself offers certain goods or services to consumers through its own online intermediation services, or does so through a business user which it controls, that provider may compete directly with other business users of its online intermediation services which are not controlled by the provider. Where online intermediation service providers use their own controls over online intermediation or search engine services to obtain technical or economic advantages for themselves or business users controlled by them and withhold such advantages from competing business users, they undermine fair market competition and adversely affect consumers by restricting choice and increasing costs. In such situations, in particular, it is important that the provider of online intermediation services acts in a transparent manner and provides a description of any differentiated treatment, whether through legal, commercial or technical means, that it might give in respect of goods or services it offers itself compared to those offered by business users. To ensure proportionality, this obligation should apply at the level of the overall online intermediation services, rather than at the level of individual goods or services offered through those services.
Amendment 194 #
Proposal for a regulation
Recital 21
Recital 21
(21) Providers of online intermediation services might in certain cases restrict in the terms and conditions the ability of business users to offer goods or services to consumers under more favourable conditions through other means than through those online intermediation services. In those cases, the providers concerned should set out the grounds for doing so, in particular with reference to the main economic, commercial or legal considerations for the restrictions. This transparency obligation should however not be understood as affecting the assessment of the legality of such restrictions under other acts of Union law or the law of Member States in accordance with Union law, including in the areasSuch restrictions are inadmissible, as they prevent business users from exercising their entrepreneurial freedom to set the conditions of sale of their own products and services and may be unfavourable to consumers by depriving them of them of competndition and unfair commercial practices, and the application of such laws that are more advantageous.
Amendment 204 #
Proposal for a regulation
Recital 23
Recital 23
(23) The requirements of this Regulation regarding the internal complaint-handling systems aim at allowing 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 cases other than any alleged non-compliance with the legal obligations of this Regulation, the internal complaint-handling systems should moreover not be open to complaints involving only negligible negative effects on the business user concerned. 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/EC25. _________________ 25 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, p36).
Amendment 214 #
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, unless it is shown that the business user has failed to act in good faith. 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 217 #
Proposal for a regulation
Recital 27
Recital 27
(27) Various factors, such as limited financial means, a fear of retaliation and exclusive choice of law and forum provisions in terms and conditions, can limit the effectiveness of existing judicial redress possibilities, particularly those which require business users or corporate website users to act individually and identifiably. To ensure the effective application of this Regulation, associations representing business users or corporate website users, as well as certain public bodies set-up inthe bodies accredited by the Member States, should accordingly be granted the possibility to take action before national courts. Such action before national courts should aim to stop or prohibit infringements of the rules set out in this Regulation and to prevent future damage that could undermine sustainable business relationships in the online platform economy. In order to ensure that such organisations or associationeconomy. Because micro- enterprises are frequently individual or family-run concerns, their market behaviour may be assimilated with that of consumers. It is therefore considered appropriate to accord these enterprises the same protection as that accorded to consumers through representative actions. In particular, accredited bodies should have the right to initiate proceedings in the name and on behalf of micro-enterprises employing fewer than 10 persons and having an annual turnover or balance sheet total not exceeding EUR 2 million. This exemption is in line with the relevant provisions of Commission Recommendation 2003/361/EC and should be supported by suitably documented annual turnover and/or annual balance sheet totals for the group in order to prevent circumvention of this Regulation, for example through the use of subsidiaries. In order to ensure that such accredited bodies exercise that right effectively and in an appropriate manner, they should meet certain criteria. Considering the particular status of the relevant public bodies in Member States where such bodies have been set up, it should only be required that those have been specifically charged, in accordance with the relevant rules of national law, with bringing such actions either in the collective interest of the parties concerned or in the general interest, without there being a need to apply those criteria to such public bodies. Any such actions should in no way affect the rights of the business users and corporate website users to take judicial action on an individual basi. Member States should communicate to the Commission a list of accredited entities authorised to represent business users and corporate website users in accordance with the provisions of this Regulation. The Commission should publish and update on its online interface a list of accredited bodies.
Amendment 227 #
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, online search engines and corporate website users in relation to online search engines are granted appropriate transparency and effective redress possibilities.
Amendment 233 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 1 – paragraph 2
Article 1 – paragraph 2
2. This Regulation shall apply to online intermediation services and online search engines provided, or offered to be provided, tothat direct their business at business users and corporate website users, respectively, that have their place of establishment or residence in the Union and that, through online intermediation services or online search engines, offer goods or services to consumers located in the Union, irrespective of the place of establishment or residence of the providers of those services.
Amendment 256 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 2 – paragraph 1 – point 2 – point c
Article 2 – paragraph 1 – point 2 – point c
(c) they are provided to business users on the basis of contractual relationships between, on the one hand, the provider of those services and, on the other hand, both those business users and the consumers to which those business users which offer goods orand services to consumers;
Amendment 265 #
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 or other online interfaces, including ‘mobile’ applications on the basis of a query on any subject in the form of a keyword, phrase or other input, and returns linksresults in any format in which information related to the requested content can be found;
Amendment 272 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 2 – paragraph 1 – point 7
Article 2 – paragraph 1 – point 7
(7) ‘corporate website user’ means any natural or legal person which uses websitesan online interface, meaning any software, including a website and its ‘mobile applications’, to offer goods or services to consumers for purposes relating to its trade, business, craft or profession;
Amendment 283 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 2 – paragraph 1 – point 10 a (new)
Article 2 – paragraph 1 – point 10 a (new)
(10a) ‘Mediation’ means an alternative procedure for settlement of disputes as defined in Article 3(a) of Directive 2008/52/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council on certain aspects of mediation in civil and commercial matters.
Amendment 286 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 3 – paragraph 1 – introductory part
Article 3 – paragraph 1 – introductory part
1. Providers of online intermediation services and of online search engines shall ensure that their terms and conditions:
Amendment 295 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 3 – paragraph 1 – point b
Article 3 – paragraph 1 – point b
(b) are publically and easily available for business users at all stages of their commercial relationship with the provider of online intermediation services or with the provider of online search engines, including in the pre-contractual stage;
Amendment 300 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 3 – paragraph 1 – point c
Article 3 – paragraph 1 – point c
(c) set out the objectivin detail the grounds for decisions to restrict, suspend or terminate, in whole or in part, the provision of their online intermediation services to business users. A statement of reasons shall also be provided if the user’s ranking worsens and shall be consistent with the terms and conditions of the service.
Amendment 312 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 3 – paragraph 1 a (new)
Article 3 – paragraph 1 a (new)
1a. Transparency vis-à-vis business users shall also be ensured in respect of the relationship between intermediation service providers and additional distribution channels. If these channels fall short of intermediation service standards and compromise users’ business, business users shall have the right to request that their product be withdrawn from those channels.
Amendment 315 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 3 – paragraph 2
Article 3 – paragraph 2
2. Terms and conditions, or specific provisions thereof, which do not comply with the requirements of paragraph 1 shall not be binding on the business user concernevalid where such non-compliance is established by a competent court.
Amendment 320 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 3 – paragraph 3 – subparagraph 1
Article 3 – paragraph 3 – subparagraph 1
Providers of online intermediation services and of online search engines shall notify to the business users concerned any envisaged modification of their terms and conditions where this concerns the relationship with the user.
Amendment 331 #
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 or of online search engines notifies the business users concerned about the envisaged modifications.
Amendment 336 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 3 – paragraph 3 a (new)
Article 3 – paragraph 3 a (new)
3a. In the event that a provider of online intermediation services or of online search engines has to modify its terms and conditions as a matter of urgency in order to protect customers of the service, it may notify the public authority of the modification by means of an emergency procedure. The public authority shall have one working day in which it may object to the modification request. Once this time period has passed, the modification shall be deemed to be accepted and paragraph 3 shall not apply.
Amendment 340 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 3 – paragraph 4
Article 3 – paragraph 4
4. Modifications to terms and conditions implemented by a provider of online intermediation services or a provider of online search engines contrary to the provisions of paragraph 3 shall be null and void.
Amendment 346 #
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 or of online search engines 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.
Amendment 355 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 4 – paragraph 1
Article 4 – paragraph 1
1. Where a provider of online intermediation services decides toor online search engines decides to restrict, suspend or terminate, in whole or in part, the provision of its online intermediation services to a given business user, it shall provide the business user concerned, without undue delay, with a statement of reasons for that decision. A statement of reasons shall also be provided in the event of a user’s ranking worsening.
Amendment 366 #
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 or of online search engines, as well as a reference to the applicable objective ground or grounds for that decision referred to in Article 3(1)(c).
Amendment 382 #
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 parametersand providers of online search engines shall set out clearly and unambiguously in their terms and conditions the main parameters and how they are weighted to determine ranking.
Amendment 398 #
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 or the provider of online search engines concerned, that provider of online intermediation services or of online search engines shall also include in its terms and conditions a description of those possibilities and of the effects of such remuneration on ranking.
Amendment 404 #
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, and how they are weighted to determininge ranking in the search result pages, 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 437 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 5 – paragraph 4 a (new)
Article 5 – paragraph 4 a (new)
Amendment 440 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 5 – paragraph 4 b (new)
Article 5 – paragraph 4 b (new)
4b. Providers of online search engines shall apply non-discriminatory classification criteria to all corporate website users. In particular, processes and methods which impact upon visibility, activation, ranking and interaction with users or on the graphic format of a search result shall be the same for all users.
Amendment 448 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 6 – paragraph 1
Article 6 – paragraph 1
1. Providers of online intermediation services and of online search engines shall include in their terms and conditions a clear and unambiguous description of any differentiated treatment which they give, or may give, in relation to, on the one hand, goods or services offered or displayed to consumers through those online intermediation services or through online search engines by either that provider itself or any business users which that provider controls and, on the other hand, other business users.
Amendment 451 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 6 – paragraph 1 a (new)
Article 6 – paragraph 1 a (new)
1a. Providers of online intermediation services and providers of online search engines shall allow consumers to choose in a simple and intuitive manner the goods or services they wish to have as their default option. Similarly, services controlled by providers of online intermediation services and of online search engines shall not have preconfigured options but shall allow consumers to choose the goods or services they wish as default options.
Amendment 453 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 6 – paragraph 1 b (new)
Article 6 – paragraph 1 b (new)
1b. Providers of online intermediation services and online search engines may not in any way endow with technical or economic advantages their offer of their own services or of services they control to commercial users, nor may they in any way interfere in the relationship between commercial users in competition with them and consumers to whom said commercial users offer goods and services, including by blocking or restricting the flow of information and communications, including publicity and marketing, between these parties.
Amendment 455 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 6 – paragraph 2 – introductory part
Article 6 – paragraph 2 – introductory part
2. The description referred to in paragraph 1 shall cover at least, where applicable, any differentiated treatment through specific measures taken by, or the behaviour of, the provider of the online intermediation services or the provider of online search engines relating to any of the following:
Amendment 458 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 6 – paragraph 2 – point a
Article 6 – paragraph 2 – point a
(a) access that the provider, or that the business users which that provider controls, may have to any personal data or other data, or both, which business users or consumers provide for the use of the online intermediation services or the online search engines concerned or which are generated through the provision of those services;
Amendment 469 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 6 – paragraph 2 – point c
Article 6 – paragraph 2 – point c
(c) any direct or indirect remuneration charged for the use of the online intermediation services or online search engines concerned;
Amendment 470 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 6 – paragraph 2 – point d
Article 6 – paragraph 2 – point d
(d) access to, or conditions for use of, services that are directly connected or ancillary to the online intermediation services or online search engines concerned.
Amendment 482 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 7 – paragraph 1
Article 7 – paragraph 1
1. Providers of online intermediation services and online search engines shall include in their terms and conditions a description of the technical and contractual access, or absence thereof, of business users to any personal data or other data, or both, which business users or consumers provide for the use of the online intermediation services and online search engines concerned or which are generated through the provision of those services. This Regulation is without prejudice to the application of Regulation (EU) 2016/679.
Amendment 492 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 7 – paragraph 2 – introductory part
Article 7 – paragraph 2 – introductory part
2. Through the description referred to in paragraph 1, providers of online intermediation services and online search engines shall adequately inform business users at least of the following:
Amendment 500 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 7 – paragraph 2 – point a
Article 7 – paragraph 2 – point a
(a) whether the provider of online intermediation services and online search engines has access to personal data or other data, or both, which business users or consumers provide for the use of those services or which are generated through the provision of those services, and if so, to which categories of such data and under what conditions and whether the data has been passed on to third parties;
Amendment 502 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 7 – paragraph 2 – point b
Article 7 – paragraph 2 – point b
(b) whether a business user has access to personal data or other data, or both, provided by that business user in connection to his or her use of the online intermediation services and online search engines concerned or generated through the provision of those services to that business user and the consumers of his or her goods or services, and if so, to which categories of such data and under what conditions;
Amendment 510 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 7 – paragraph 2 – point c
Article 7 – paragraph 2 – point c
(c) whether, in addition to point (b), a business user has access to personal data or other data, or both, including in aggregated form, provided by or generated through the provision of the online intermediation services and online search engines to all of the business users and consumers thereof, and if so, to which categories of such data and under what conditions.
Amendment 523 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 7 – paragraph 2 a (new)
Article 7 – paragraph 2 a (new)
2a. Business users shall ensure that data supplied to providers of online intermediation services and online search engines are easy to understand and suited to compliance with the legal obligations of providers, particularly obligations towards consumers.
Amendment 533 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 8 – paragraph 1
Article 8 – paragraph 1
1. Where, iIn the provision of their services, providers of online intermediation services and online search engines may not restrict the ability of business users to offer the same goods and services to consumers under different conditions through other means than through those services, they shall include grounds for that restriction in their terms and conditions and make those grounds easily available to the public. Those grounds shall include the main economic, commercial or legal considerations for those restrictions.
Amendment 550 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 9 – paragraph 1 – subparagraph 1
Article 9 – paragraph 1 – subparagraph 1
Providers of online intermediation services and online search engines shall provide for an internal system for handling the complaints of business users.
Amendment 557 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 9 – paragraph 1 – subparagraph 2 – point a
Article 9 – paragraph 1 – subparagraph 2 – point a
(a) alleged non-compliance by that provider with any legal obligations laid down in this Regulation which negatively affectshas an impact on the complainant;
Amendment 558 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 9 – paragraph 1 – subparagraph 2 – point b
Article 9 – paragraph 1 – subparagraph 2 – point b
(b) technological issues which relate directly to the provision of online intermediation services, and which negatively affect the complainant in a non-negligible manonline search enginers;
Amendment 560 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 9 – paragraph 1 – subparagraph 2 – point c
Article 9 – paragraph 1 – subparagraph 2 – point c
(c) measures taken by, or behaviour of, that provider which relate directly to the provision of the online intermediation services, and which negatively affect the complainant in a non-negligible manner.
Amendment 564 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 9 – paragraph 2 – introductory part
Article 9 – paragraph 2 – introductory part
2. As part of their internal complaint- handling system, providers of online intermediation services and online search engines shall:
Amendment 574 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 9 – paragraph 3
Article 9 – paragraph 3
3. Providers of online intermediation services and online search engines shall include in their terms and conditions all relevant information relating to the access to and functioning of their internal complaint-handling system.
Amendment 583 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 9 – paragraph 4 – subparagraph 1
Article 9 – paragraph 4 – subparagraph 1
Providers of online intermediation services and online search engines shall annually establish and make easily available to the public information on the functioning and effectiveness of their internal complaint- handling system.
Amendment 589 #
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 the complaints, the time period needed to process the complaints and the decision takenlevel of user satisfaction following the processing onf the complaints lodged.
Amendment 593 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 9 – paragraph 5
Article 9 – paragraph 5
5. The provisions of this Article shall not apply to providers of online intermediation services and online search engines that are small enterprises within the meaning of Article 2 (2) of the Annex to Recommendation 2003/361/EC29. _________________ 29 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, p36).
Amendment 597 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 9 – paragraph 5 a (new)
Article 9 – paragraph 5 a (new)
5a. Within six months of the entry into force of this Regulation, the Commission shall develop guidelines to facilitate the implementation of the internal system for the handling of complaints by small businesses.
Amendment 608 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 10 – paragraph 1 – subparagraph 1
Article 10 – paragraph 1 – subparagraph 1
Providers of online intermediation services and online search engines shall 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 or online search engines concerned, including complaints that could not be resolved by means of the internal complaint-handling system referred to in Article 9.
Amendment 609 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 10 – paragraph 1 – subparagraph 2
Article 10 – paragraph 1 – subparagraph 2
Providers of online intermediation services mayand onlyine search engines may not identify mediators providing their mediation services from a location outside the Union where it is ensured that the business users concerned are not effectively deprived of the benefit of any legal safeguards laid down in Union law or the law of the Member States as a consequence of the mediators providing those services from outside the Union.
Amendment 619 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 10 – paragraph 3
Article 10 – paragraph 3
3. Providers of online intermediation services and online search engines 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 635 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 10 – paragraph 4
Article 10 – paragraph 4
4. Providers of online intermediation services and online search engines shall bear a reasonable proportion of the total costs of mediation in each individual case, except where it has been shown that a business user has failed to act in good faith. 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 641 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 10 – paragraph 5
Article 10 – paragraph 5
5. Any attempt to reach an agreement through mediation on the settlement of a dispute in accordance with this Article shall not affect the rights of the providers of the online intermediation services and online search engines and of the business users concerned to initiate judicial proceedings at any time during or after the mediation process.
Amendment 648 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 10 – paragraph 5 a (new)
Article 10 – paragraph 5 a (new)
5a. Providers of online intermediation services shall annually provide and make available to the general public information on the functioning and effectiveness of the mediation system which applies to their activities.
Amendment 653 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 11 – paragraph 1
Article 11 – paragraph 1
The Commission shall encourage providers of online intermediation services and online search engines 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 10(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. and online search engines.
Amendment 654 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 12 – paragraph 1
Article 12 – paragraph 1
1. OrganisaMember States shall ensure that representative actions cand associations that have a legitimate interest in be brought by qualified entities designated, at their request, by the Member States in advance for this purpose and placed on a publicly available list. Entities designated by Member States to 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.
Amendment 660 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 12 – paragraph 1 a (new)
Article 12 – paragraph 1 a (new)
1a. Qualified entities shall also have the right to bring representative actions for compensation, requiring providers of online intermediation services and online search engines to provide, inter alia, compensation, repair, replacement, removal, reduction of price, contract termination or reimbursement of the price paid, as the case may be, only and exclusively in respect of businesses employing fewer than 10 persons and whose annual turnover and/or annual balance sheet total does not exceed EUR 2 million.
Amendment 662 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 12 – paragraph 2 – subparagraph 1 – introductory part
Article 12 – paragraph 2 – subparagraph 1 – introductory part
Amendment 670 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 12 – paragraph 2 – subparagraph 1 – point a
Article 12 – paragraph 2 – subparagraph 1 – point a
(a) they areit is properly constituted according to the law of a Member State;
Amendment 673 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 12 – paragraph 2 – subparagraph 1 – point b
Article 12 – paragraph 2 – subparagraph 1 – point b
(b) ithey pursues objectives that are in the collective interest of the group of business users or corporate website users that they represent;
Amendment 679 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 12 – paragraph 2 – subparagraph 1 – point c
Article 12 – paragraph 2 – subparagraph 1 – point c
(c) they areit is of a non-profit making character.
Amendment 684 #
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) it publishes in detail the provenance of the funds it receives and the representative actions that it pursues.
Amendment 690 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 12 – paragraph 2 – subparagraph 2 a (new)
Article 12 – paragraph 2 – subparagraph 2 a (new)
Compliance by a qualified entity with the criteria referred to in paragraph 2 shall be without prejudice to the right of the court or administrative authority to examine whether the purpose of the qualified entity justifies its taking action in a specific case.
Amendment 691 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 12 – paragraph 2 – subparagraph 2 b (new)
Article 12 – paragraph 2 – subparagraph 2 b (new)
Member States shall assess on a regular basis whether a qualified entity continues to comply with these criteria. Member States shall ensure that the qualified entity loses its status under this Regulation if it no longer complies with one or more of the criteria listed in paragraph 2.
Amendment 695 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 12 – paragraph 3 a (new)
Article 12 – paragraph 3 a (new)
3a. Member States may designate a qualified entity on an ad hoc basis for a particular representative action at its request, if it complies with the criteria referred to in paragraph 2.
Amendment 696 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 12 – paragraph 3 b (new)
Article 12 – paragraph 3 b (new)
Amendment 698 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 13 – paragraph 1
Article 13 – paragraph 1
1. The Commission shall encourage the drawing up of codes of conduct bysure that providers of online intermediation services and byonline search engines and organisations and associations representing them, as well as business users and associations representing them, draw up codes of conduct 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 micro, small and medium-sized enterprises.
Amendment 712 #
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 threewo years, the Commission shall evaluate this Regulation and report to the European Parliament, the Council and the European Economic and Social Committee.
Amendment 719 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 14 – paragraph 2 a (new)
Article 14 – paragraph 2 a (new)
2a. A further assessment shall be performed to ascertain whether it is possible to introduce a right of access to data for the consumers who generate it, so as to prevent companies which hold large quantities of data generated by consumers from impeding the entry to the market of competing companies that need the data in order to offer goods and services.