BETA

Activities of Nathalie COLIN-OESTERLÉ related to 2020/0374(COD)

Shadow opinions (1)

OPINION on the proposal for a regulation of the European Parliament and of the Council on contestable and fair markets in the digital sector (Digital Markets Act)
2021/10/18
Committee: LIBE
Dossiers: 2020/0374(COD)
Documents: PDF(268 KB) DOC(185 KB)
Authors: [{'name': 'Ondřej KOVAŘÍK', 'mepid': 118949}]

Amendments (95)

Amendment 38 #
Proposal for a regulation
Recital 9
(9) A fragmentation of the internal market can only be effectively averted if Member States are prevented from applying national rules which are specific to the types of undertakings and services covered by this Regulation. At the same time, sNothing in this Regulation precludes the Member States from imposing the same or stricter obligations on undertakings in pursuit of legitimate public interests, in accordance with Union law. Legitimate public interests include, among others, consumer protection, the fight against unfair competition, and the protection of freedom and pluralism. In particular, there is nothing in this Regulation to preclude the Member States from pursuing these legitimate public interests by imposing obligations on undertakings with gatekeeper status in accordance with this Regulation. Since this Regulation aims at complementing the enforcement of competition law, it should be specified that this Regulation is without prejudice to Articles 101 and 102 TFEU, to the corresponding national competition rules and to other national competition rules regarding unilateral behaviour that are based on an individualised assessment of market positions and behaviour, including its likely effects and the precise scope of the prohibited behaviour, and which provide for the possibility of undertakings to make efficiency and objective justification arguments for the behaviour in question. However, the application of the latter rules should not affect the obligations imposed on gatekeepers under this Regulation and their uniform and effective application in the internal market.
2021/07/28
Committee: LIBE
Amendment 41 #
Proposal for a regulation
Recital 13 a (new)
(13a) Where the gatekeeper has a number of core platform services, separate authentication factors, for example separate user accounts set up for each core platform service, should be possible. It must not be mandatory to combine or link accounts belonging to business or end users.
2021/07/28
Committee: LIBE
Amendment 42 #
Proposal for a regulation
Recital 14 a (new)
(14a) Gatekeepers may also provide ancillary services aimed at end users, alongside their basic services, and do so in a manner that is indistinguishable for the average user. These ancillary services may compete against the professional users of the platform's basic service and be a significant factor in any market imbalance, leading, ultimately, to an unfair increase in the power of the gatekeeper, including with respect to its commercial partners, such as suppliers of goods and services, who depend on this ancillary service. To prevent gatekeepers from unfairly benefiting from the leverage provided by the ancillary services, these services should also be subject to the obligations applicable to core platform services.
2021/07/28
Committee: LIBE
Amendment 60 #
Proposal for a regulation
Recital 57
(57) In particular gatekeepers which provide access to software application storeCore platform services provided by gatekeepers serve as an important gateway for business users that seek to reach end users. In view of the imbalance in bargaining power between those gatekeepers and business users of their software application stores, those gatekeepers should not be allowed to impose general conditions, including pricing conditions, that would be unfair or lead to unjustified differentiation. Pricing or other general access conditions should be considered unfair if they lead to an imbalance of rights and obligations imposed on business users or confer an advantage on the gatekeeper which is disproportionate to the service provided by the gatekeeper to business users or lead to a disadvantage for business users in providing the same or similar services as the gatekeeper. The following benchmarks can serve as a yardstick to determine the fairness of general access conditions: prices charged or conditions imposed for the same or similar services by another providers of software application storcore platform services; prices charged or conditions imposed by the provider of the software application store for different related or similar services or to different types of end users; prices charged or conditions imposed by the provider of the software application storecore platform services for the same service in different geographic regions; prices charged or conditions imposed by the provider of the software application store for the same service the gatekeeper offers to itself. This obligation should not establish an access right and it should be without prejudice to their ability of providers of software application stores to take the required responsibility in the fight against illegal and unwanted content as set out in Regulation [Digital Services Act].
2021/07/28
Committee: LIBE
Amendment 74 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article premier – paragraph 5
5. Member States shall not impose on gatekeepers further obligations by way of laws, regulations or administrative action for the purpose of ensuring contestable and fair markets. This is without prejudice to rules pursuing other legitimate public interests, in compliance with Union law. In particular, nothing in this Regulation precludes Member States from imposing obligations, which are compatible with Union lawpursue a legitimate public interest, on undertakings, including providers of core platform services where these obligations are unrelated to the relevant undertakings having a status of gatekeeper within the meaning of this Regulation in order to protect consumers or to fight against acts of unfair competition.
2021/07/28
Committee: LIBE
Amendment 115 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 5 – paragraph 1 – point a
(a) refrain from combining personal data sourced from these core platform services with personal data from any other services offered by the gatekeeper or with personal data from third-party services, and from signing in end users to other services of the gatekeeper in order to combine personal data, unless the end user has been presented with the specific choice and provided consent in the sense of Regulation (EU) 2016/679. except when disclosing data to third parties commissioned by one or more professional users to perform independent traffic analytics with a view to ensuring market share transparency and safeguarding the general and/or public interests;
2021/07/28
Committee: LIBE
Amendment 119 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 5 – paragraph 1 – point d
(d) refrain from directly or indirectly preventing or restricting business and end users from raising issues with any relevant public authority relating to any practice of gatekeepers, including by means of the reporting mechanism for professional and end users pursuant to Article 18a;
2021/07/28
Committee: LIBE
Amendment 124 #
(9) A fragmentation of the internal market can only be effectively averted if Member States are prevented from applying national rules which are specific to the types of undertakings and services covered by this Regulation. At the same time, sNothing in this Regulation precludes the Member States from imposing the same or stricter obligations on undertakings in pursuit of legitimate public interests, in accordance with Union law. Legitimate public interests include, among others, consumer protection, the fight against unfair competition, and the protection of freedom and pluralism. In particular, there is nothing in this Regulation to preclude the Member States from pursuing these legitimate public interests by imposing obligations on undertakings with gatekeeper status in accordance with this Regulation. Since this Regulation aims at complementing the enforcement of competition law, it should be specified that this Regulation is without prejudice to Articles 101 and 102 TFEU, to the corresponding national competition rules and to other national competition rules regarding unilateral behaviour that are based on an individualised assessment of market positions and behaviour, including its likely effects and the precise scope of the prohibited behaviour, and which provide for the possibility of undertakings to make efficiency and objective justification arguments for the behaviour in question. However, the application of the latter rules should not affect the obligations imposed on gatekeepers under this Regulation and their uniform and effective application in the internal market.
2021/09/09
Committee: ECON
Amendment 131 #
(ga) refrain from communicating, or using for its own purposes, sensitive information obtained in the context of an advertising service, or from using it for any purpose other than the performance of the concluded service agreement, unless the gatekeeper and its client have agreed otherwise.
2021/07/28
Committee: LIBE
Amendment 133 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 6 – paragraph 1 – point a
(a) refrain from using, in competition with business users, any data not publicly available, which is generated through activities by those business users, including by the end users of these business users, of its core platform services or ancillary services or provided by those business users of its core platform services or by the end users of these business users via the core platform services or ancillary services;
2021/07/28
Committee: LIBE
Amendment 135 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 6 – paragraph 1 – point b
(b) allowinform end users to un-installupon first use of any pre-installed software applications on its core platform service and of the option to un-install them, without prejudice to the possibility for a gatekeeper to restrict such un-installation in relation to software applications that are essential for the functioning of the operating system or of the device and which cannot technically be offered on a standalone basis by third- parties;
2021/07/28
Committee: LIBE
Amendment 139 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 6 – paragraph 1 – point d
(d) refrain from treating more favourably in rankingor differently in terms of ranking, access or terms of service, or technical features and interfaces, services and products offered by the gatekeeper itself or by any third party belonging to the same undertaking compared to similar services or products of thirdany other party and apply fair and non-discriminatory conditions to such rankingin terms of ranking, access or terms of service, and technical features and interfaces;
2021/07/28
Committee: LIBE
Amendment 140 #
Proposal for a regulation
Recital 13 a (new)
(13a) Where the gatekeeper has a number of core platform services, separate authentication, for example separate user accounts set up for each core platform service, should be possible. It must not be mandatory to combine or link accounts belonging to business or end users.
2021/09/09
Committee: ECON
Amendment 141 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 6 – paragraph 1 – point d a (new)
(da) have its online search engine, online social networking or intermediation service display its own advertisements or services following an end user query only if the search results are relevant, and inform the end user, by means of an explicit and easily identifiable statement to that effect, that the search result relates to an advertisement or service belonging to the gatekeeper itself;
2021/07/28
Committee: LIBE
Amendment 141 #
Proposal for a regulation
Recital 14 a (new)
(14a) Gatekeepers may also provide ancillary services aimed at end users, alongside their basic services, and do so in a manner that is indistinguishable for the average user. These ancillary services may compete against the professional users of the platform's basic service and be a significant factor in any market imbalance, leading, ultimately, to an unfair increase in the power of the gatekeeper, including with respect to its commercial partners, such as suppliers of goods and services, who depend on this ancillary service. To prevent gatekeepers from unfairly benefiting from the leverage provided by the ancillary services, these services should also be subject to the obligations applicable to core platform services.
2021/09/09
Committee: ECON
Amendment 142 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 6 – paragraph 1 – point e
(e) refrain from technically restricting the ability of end users to switch between and subscribe to different software applications andcontent or services to be accessed using the operating systemcore platform service of the gatekeeper, including as regards the choice of Internet access provider for end users, or the use of a vocal assistant;
2021/07/28
Committee: LIBE
Amendment 147 #
Proposal for a regulation
Recital 9
(9) A fragmentNothing in this Regulation precludes Member States from imposing the same, stricter or different obligations of the internal market can only be effectively averted if Member States are prevented from applying national rules which are specific to the typen undertakings in order to pursue legitimate public interests, in compliance with Union law. Those legitimate public interests can be, among others, the protection of consumers, the fight against acts of unfair competition and the protection of media freedom and pluralism. In particular, nothing in this Regulation precludes Member States from pursuing those legitimate interests by imposing obligations ofn undertakings and services covered by this Regulation. At the same time, shaving a status of gatekeeper within the meaning of this Regulation as well as other undertakings. Since this Regulation aims at complementing the enforcement of competition law, it should be specified that this Regulation is without prejudice to Articles 101 and 102 TFEU, to the corresponding national competition rules and to other national competition rules regarding unilateral behaviour that are based on an individualised assessment of market positions and behaviour, including its likely effects and the precise scope of the prohibited behaviour, and which provide for the possibility of undertakings to make efficiency and objective justification arguments for the behaviour in question. However, the application of the latter rules should not affect the obligations imposed on gatekeepers under this Regulation and their uniform and effective application in the internal market.
2021/07/09
Committee: IMCO
Amendment 149 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 6 – paragraph 1 – point g
(g) provide advertisers and publishers, or third parties authorised by the advertisers and publishers, upon their request and free of charge, with access to the performance measuring tools of the gatekeeper and the information necessary for advertisers and publishers to carry out their own independent verification of the ad inventory;
2021/07/28
Committee: LIBE
Amendment 153 #
Proposal for a regulation
Recital 11
(11) This Regulation should also complement, without prejudice to their application, the rules resulting from other acts of Union law regulating certain aspects of the provision of services covered by this Regulation, in particular Regulation (EU) 2019/1150 of the European Parliament and of the Council26 , Regulation (EU) xx/xx/EU [DSA] of the European Parliament and of the Council27 , Regulation (EU) 2016/679 of the European Parliament and of the Council28 , Directive (EU) 2019/790 of the European Parliament and of the Council29 , Directive (EU) 2015/2366 of the European Parliament and of the Council30 , and Directive (EU) 2010/13 of the European Parliament and of the Council31 , as well as national rules aimed at enforcing or, as the case may be, implementing that Union legislation. _________________ 26 Regulation (EU) 2019/1150 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 20 June 2019 on promoting fairness and transparency for business users of online intermediation services (OJ L 186, 11.7.2019, p. 57). 27Regulation (EU) …/.. of the European Parliament and of the Council – proposal on a Single Market For Digital Services (Digital Services Act) and amending Directive 2000/31/EC. 28Regulation (EU) 2016/679 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 27 April 2016 on the protection of natural persons with regard to the processing of personal data and on the free movement of such data, and repealing Directive 95/46/EC (General Data Protection Regulation) (OJ L 119, 4.5.2016, p. 1). 29Directive (EU) 2019/790 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 17 April 2019 on copyright and related rights in the Digital Single Market and amending Directives 96/9/EC and 2001/29/ (OJ L 130, 17.5.2019, p. 92.). 30Directive (EU) 2015/2366 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 25 November 2015 on payment services in the internal market, amending Directives 2002/65/EC, 2009/110/EC and 2013/36/EU and Regulation (EU) No 1093/2010, and repealing Directive 2007/64/EC ( OJ L 337, 23.12.2015, p. 35). 31Directive 2010/13/EU of the European Parliament and of the Council of 10 March 2010 on the coordination of certain provisions laid down by law, regulation or administrative action in Member States concerning the provision of audiovisual media services (Audiovisual Media Services Directive) (OJ L 95, 15.4.2010, p. 1)taken in accordance with that Union legislation.
2021/07/09
Committee: IMCO
Amendment 153 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 6 – paragraph 1 – point h
(h) provide effective portability of data provided or generated through the activity of a business user or end user and shall, in particular, provide tools, foree of charge, to business users and end users to facilitate the exercise of data portability, in line with Regulation EU 2016/679, including by the provision of continuous and real-time access ;
2021/07/28
Committee: LIBE
Amendment 159 #
Proposal for a regulation
Recital 13
(13) In particular, online intermediation services, (including, among others, marketplaces, app stores, digital voice assistants), online search engines, operating systems, online social networking, video sharing platform services, number- independent interpersonal communication services, cloud computing services and online advertising services all have the capacity to affect a large number of end users and businesses alike, which entails a risk of unfair business practices. They therefore should be included in the definition of core platform services and fall into the scope of this Regulation. Online intermediation services may also be active in the field of financial services, and they may intermediate or be used to provide such services as listed non-exhaustively in Annex II to Directive (EU) 2015/1535 of the European Parliament and of the Council32 . In certain circumstances, the notion of end users should encompass users that are traditionally considered business users, but in a given situation do not use the core platform services to provide goods or services to other end users, such as for example businesses relying on cloud computing services for their own purposes. For marketplaces, an active end user is a user who has completed at least one commercial transaction each month. _________________ 32Directive (EU) 2015/1535 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 9 September 2015 laying down a procedure for the provision of information in the field of technical regulations and of rules on Information Society services, OJ L 241, 17.9.2015, p. 1.
2021/07/09
Committee: IMCO
Amendment 160 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 6 – paragraph 1 – point i
(i) provide business users, or third parties authorised by a business user, free of charge, with effective, high-quality, continuous and real-time access and use of aggregated or non-aggregated data, that is provided for or generated in the context of the use of the relevant core platform servicesor ancillary services offered by the gatekeeper by those business users and the end users engaging with the products or services provided by those business users; for personal data, provide access and use only where directly connected with the use effectuated by the end user in respect of the products or services offered by the relevant business user through the relevant core platform service, and when the end user opts in to such sharing with a consent in the sense of the Regulation (EU) 2016/679; ;
2021/07/28
Committee: LIBE
Amendment 166 #
Proposal for a regulation
Recital 14 a (new)
(14 a) Gatekeepers may also provide other ancillary services, for instance retailing or distribution activities, that are targeted at end users alongside their core platform services and in a manner that is indistinguishable for the average user. Such ancillary services can compete with business users of the core platform service and contribute significantly to the imbalance in a given market and ultimately increase unfairly the gatekeeper’s power, including in relation to the gatekeeper’s business partners, such as suppliers of goods or services, relying on such ancillary service. To prevent gatekeepers from unfairly benefiting from the leverage provided by provision of parallel services, such ancillary services should also be subject to the obligations applicable to core platform services.
2021/07/09
Committee: IMCO
Amendment 167 #
Proposal for a regulation
Recital 14 b (new)
(14 b) The impact of gatekeepers on the market makes their business partners, whether business users or suppliers of ancillary services, highly vulnerable to unfair terms and conditions of the gatekeepers they rely on. As such, gatekeeper should ensure that their terms and conditions are transparent and fair. While appropriate and proportionate sanctions in case of in breach of such terms and conditions should be allowed, they should be formally justified and allow for the sanctioned party to contest them. For this purpose, gatekeepers should provide for an internal system for handling swiftly the complaints of their business users and suppliers of ancillary services, including in their national language if the gatekeeper’s service actively targets the Member State concerned.
2021/07/09
Committee: IMCO
Amendment 168 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 6 – paragraph 1 – point k
(k) apply fair and non-discriminatory general conditions of access forand treatment to business users of its core platform service, in particular to business users tof its software application store, search engine, online payment service or online social networking service, designated pursuant to Article 3 of this Regulation.;
2021/07/28
Committee: LIBE
Amendment 188 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 14 – paragraph 1
1. When the Commission intends to 1. carry out a market investigation in view of the possible adoption of decisions pursuant to Articles 15, 16, 16a and 17, it shall adopt a decision opening a market investigation.
2021/07/28
Committee: LIBE
Amendment 191 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 16 a (new)
Article 16a Article 16a Market investigation and tailor-made remedies to ensure markets are contestable and fair. 1. The Commission may carry out a market investigation, pursuant to Article 17, in order to ascertain whether tailor-made remedies, in accordance with paragraph 2, should be imposed on a gatekeeper in order to ensure that the markets of core platform services are contestable and fair. The Commission shall conclude its investigation by adopting a decision within 12 months of the opening of the market investigation. 2. Where the market investigation carried out in accordance with paragraph 1 finds that the obligations laid down in Articles 5 and 6 are insufficient to prevent a gatekeeper from adopting practices which, like the practices targeted by the obligations laid down in Articles 5 and 6, limit the contestability of core platform services or are unfair within the meaning of Article 10(2), the Commission may impose, by way of a duly reasoned decision adopted via the advisory procedure referred to in Article 32(4), the necessary proportionate remedies on the basis of the principles set out in paragraph 4, in order to ensure the objectives of this Regulation. 3. In its market investigation, the Commission shall take into account all relevant information provided by the third parties concerned, such as the professional and end users. 4. When it adopts its decision pursuant to paragraph 2, the Commission shall take the measures deemed appropriate and necessary. These measures may concern: (a) access to platforms (including obligations relating to interoperability, granting access to core APIs and the application of common standards); (b) data-related measures (including obligations relating to data mobility and granting access to core data, and data silos); (c) fair commercial relations (including non-discrimination requirements, prohibitions on self-referencing that distorts competition, and obligations to apply fair contractual terms); (d) the freedom of choice of end and professional users (including obligations to proactively offer users options, regulating default values and designing a chosen architecture). 5. The Commission shall communicate its objections to the gatekeeper concerned within six months of the opening of the investigation. In its objections, the Commission shall state whether its preliminary assessment is that the conditions of paragraphs 1 and 2 have been met and which remedy or remedies it has preliminarily identified as necessary and proportionate. In this assessment, the Commission shall consider the technical and economic viability of the measures for the gatekeeper, as well as the long- term impact on end users and innovation. 6. At any point in the market investigation, the Commission may extend its duration, where justified on objective and proportionate grounds. The extension may apply to the time frame within which the Commission must issue its objections, or to the deadline for adoption of the final decision. The total duration of any extension granted pursuant to this paragraph must not exceed six months.
2021/07/28
Committee: LIBE
Amendment 192 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 17 – paragraph 1
The Commission may conduct a market investigation with the purpose of examining whether one or more services within the digital sector should be added to the list of core platform services or to detect types of practices that may limit the contestability of core platform services or may be unfair and which are not effectively addressed by this Regulation. It shall issue a public report at the latest within 124 months from the opening of the market investigation.
2021/07/28
Committee: LIBE
Amendment 194 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 18 a (new)
Article 18a Reporting mechanism for professional and end users 1. Professional users, including competitors, and end users of the core platform services defined in Article 2(2) may, in a report, notify the Commission or a national competition authority of any practice or behaviour on the part of a gatekeeper that falls within the scope of this Regulation. The Commission shall grant the Member States access to these reports. 2. If the report pursuant to paragraph 1 is received by a national competition authority, it is forwarded directly to the Commission. 3. The Commission shall establish the conditions for submission of the reports referred to in paragraph 1. It shall also establish the conditions in which the Member States, in particular the national competition authorities, are notified of and given access to these reports. 4. The Commission shall have the power to set its priorities for examining the reports referred to paragraph 1. Subject to the provisions of paragraph 5 below and of Article 33, the Commission shall have the power to choose to not examine a report where it does not consider that report to be an enforcement priority. 5. When the Commission considers that a report is an enforcement priority, it may open proceedings pursuant to Article 18 or a market investigation pursuant to Article 14.
2021/07/28
Committee: LIBE
Amendment 205 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 31 a (new)
Article 31a Cooperation with the national competition authorities and their powers 1. The Commission shall ensure that the reports forwarded pursuant to Article 16b of this Regulation are made available to the national competition authorities within the European Competition Network, defined in Article 2(1)(5) of Directive (EU) 2019/1. 2. The Commission shall circulate within the European Competition Network the decisions relating to the opening of a market investigation pursuant to Article 14 or proceedings pursuant to Article 18. The national competition authorities may provide the Commission, on a voluntary basis, with any information deemed helpful and necessary for the purpose of the market investigation carried out pursuant to Articles 15, 16, 16a and 17, and provide the Commission with assistance, upon request, in implementing Articles 19, 20 and 21.
2021/07/28
Committee: LIBE
Amendment 208 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 33 – paragraph 1
1. When three or more Member States request the Commission to open an investigation pursuant to Article 15 because they consider that there are reasonable grounds to suspect that a provider of core platform services should be designated as a gatekeeper4, the Commission shall within four months examine whether there are reasonable grounds to open such an investigation.
2021/07/28
Committee: LIBE
Amendment 216 #
Proposal for a regulation
Recital 37
(37) Because of their position, gatekeepers might, in certain cases, through the imposition of contractual terms and conditions, restrict the ability of business users of their online intermediation services to offer their goods or services to end users under more favourable conditions, including price, through other online intermediation services or their own websites, other distribution channels or the direct online sales channels they own. Such restrictions have a significant deterrent effect on the business users of gatekeepers in terms of their use of alternative online intermediation servicedistribution channels, limiting inter-platform contestability, which in turn limits choice of alternative online intermediation channels for end users. To ensure that business users of online intermediation services of gatekeepers can freely choose alternative online intermediation services and differentiate the conditions under which they offer their products or services to their end users, it should not be accepted that gatekeepers limit business users from choosing to differentiate commercial conditions, including price. Such a restriction should apply to any measure with equivalent effect, such as for example increased commission rates or de-listing of the offers of business users.
2021/07/09
Committee: IMCO
Amendment 227 #
Proposal for a regulation
Recital 38
(38) To prevent further reinforcing their dependence on the core platform services of gatekeepers, the business users of these gatekeepers should be free in promoting and choosing the distribution channel they consider most appropriate to interact with any end users that these business users have already acquired through core platform services provided by the gatekeeper. Conversely, end users should also be free to choose offers of such business users and to enter into contracts with them either through core platform services of the gatekeeper, if applicable, or from a direct distribution channel of the business user or another indirect distribution channel such business user may use. This should apply to the promotion of offers and conclusion of contracts between business users and end users. Moreover, the ability of end users to freely acquire contentdigital content and services, subscriptions, features or other items outside the core platform services of the gatekeeper should not be undermined in any way or restricted, especially through the use of technical restrictions. In particular, it should be avoided that gatekeepers restrict end users from access to and use of such services via a software application running on their core platform service. For example, subscribers to online content purchased outside a software application download or purchased from a software application store should not be prevented from accessing such online content on a software application on the gatekeeper’s core platformlegally acquired digital content and services via hardware or software features that are used by that gatekeeper when providing a similar digital content or digital service, simply because it was purchased outside such software application or software application storthe gatekeeper’s core platform service.
2021/07/09
Committee: IMCO
Amendment 238 #
Proposal for a regulation
Recital 40
(40) Identification services areGatekeepers offer a range of ancillary services. To ensure contestability, it is crucial forthat business users to conduct their business, as these can allow them not only to optimise services, to the extent allowed under Regulation (EU) 2016/679 and Directive 2002/58/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council33 , but also to inject trust in online transactions, in compliance with Union or national laware free to choose such ancillary services freely, without having to fear any detrimental effects for the provision of the core platform service. Gatekeepers should therefore not use their position as provider of core platform services to require their dependent business users to include any identificationuse, offer or include any ancillary services provided by the gatekeeper itself as part of the provision of services or products by these business users toor a particular their end usersd party , where other identificationancillary services are available to such business users. _________________ 33Directive 2002/58/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 12 July 2002 concerning the processing of personal data andIn particular, gatekeepers shall not make their service dependent on business users including any identification service provided by the gatekeeper itself as part of the protectvision of privacy in the electronic communications sector (Directive on privacy and electronic communications) (OJ L 201, 31.7.2002, p. 37)services or products by these business users to their end users, where alternatives exist.
2021/07/09
Committee: IMCO
Amendment 243 #
Proposal for a regulation
Recital 41
(41) Gatekeepers should not restrict the free choice of end users by technically preventing switching between or subscription to different software applications and services. Gatekeepers should therefore ensure a free choice irrespective of whether they are the manufacturer of any hardware by means of which such software applications or services are accessed and should not raise artificial technical barriers so as to make switching impossiblemore difficult or ineffective. The mere offering of a given product or service to end users, including by means of pre- installation, as well the improvement of end user offering, such as better prices or increased quality, would not in itself constitute a barrier to switching.
2021/07/09
Committee: IMCO
Amendment 243 #
Proposal for a regulation
Recital 57
(57) In particularCore platform services provided by gatekeepers, which provide access to software application stores, serve as an important gateway for business users that seek to reach end users. In view of the imbalance in bargaining power between those gatekeepers and business users of their software application stores, those gatekeepers should not be allowed to impose general conditions, including pricing conditions, that would be unfair or lead to unjustified differentiation. Pricing or other general access conditions should be considered unfair if they lead to an imbalance of rights and obligations imposed on business users or confer an advantage on the gatekeeper which is disproportionate to the service provided by the gatekeeper to business users or lead to a disadvantage for business users in providing the same or similar services as the gatekeeper. The following benchmarks can serve as a yardstick to determine the fairness of general access conditions: prices charged or conditions imposed for the same or similar services by another providers of software application storcore platform services; prices charged or conditions imposed by the provider of the software application store for different related or similar services or to different types of end users; prices charged or conditions imposed by the provider of the software application storecore platform services for the same service in different geographic regions; prices charged or conditions imposed by the provider of the software application store for the same service the gatekeeper offers to itself. This obligation should not establish an access right and it should be without prejudice to their ability of providers of software application stores to take the required responsibility in the fight against illegal and unwanted content as set out in Regulation [Digital Services Act].
2021/09/09
Committee: ECON
Amendment 248 #
Proposal for a regulation
Recital 43
(43) A gatekeeper may in certain circumstances have a dual role as a provider of core platform services whereby it provides a core platform service to its business users, while also competing with those same business users in the provision of the same or similar services or products to the same end users, including as part of an ancillary service. In these circumstances, a gatekeeper may take advantage of its dual role to use data, generated from transactions by its business users on the core platform or from transactions on its ancillary service, for the purpose of its own services that offer similar services or goods to that of its business users or of its suppliers. This may be the case, for instance, where a gatekeeper provides an online marketplace or app store to business users, and at the same time offer services as an online retailer or provider of application software against those business users or against its suppliers. To prevent gatekeepers from unfairly benefitting from their dual role, it should be ensured that they refrain from using any aggregated or non-aggregated data, which may include anonymised and personal data that is not publicly available to offer similar services to those of their business users. This obligation should apply to the gatekeeper as a whole, including but not limited to its business unit that competes with the business users of a core platform service or with the supplier of an ancillary service.
2021/07/09
Committee: IMCO
Amendment 260 #
Proposal for a regulation
Recital 47
(47) The rules that the gatekeepers set for the distribution of software applications may in certain circumstances restrict the ability of end users to install and effectively use third party software applications or software application stores on operating systems or hardware of the relevant gatekeeper and restrict the ability of end users to access these software applications or software application stores outside the core platform services of that gatekeeper. Such restrictions may limit the ability of developers of software applications to use alternative distribution channels and the ability of end users to choose between different software applications from different distribution channels and should be prohibited as unfair and liable to weaken the contestability of core platform services. In order to ensure that third party software applications or software application stores do not endanger the integrity of the hardware or operating system provided by the gatekeeper the gatekeeper concerned may implement proportionate technical or contractual measures to achieve that goal if the gatekeeper demonstrates that such measures are necessary and justified and that there are no less restrictive means to safeguard the integrity of the hardware or operating system. This prohibition on restricting the ability of end users to install and use, or access, third-party software applications or application stores should therefore also be without prejudice to the ability of gatekeepers to take the required responsibility in the fight against illegal content online.
2021/07/09
Committee: IMCO
Amendment 268 #
Proposal for a regulation
Recital 48
(48) Gatekeepers are often vertically integrated and offer certain products or services to end users through their own core platform services, or through a business user over which they exercise control which frequently leads to conflicts of interest. This can include the situation whereby a gatekeeper offers its own online intermediation services through an online search engine. When offering those products or services on the core platform service, gatekeepers can reserve a better position to their own offering, in terms of ranking, as opposed to the products of third parties also operating onusing that core platform service. This can occur for instance with products or services, including other core platform services, which are ranked within or along in the results communicated by online search engines, or which are partly or entirely embedded in search results of online search engines results, groups of results specialised in a certain topic, displayed along with the results of an online search engine, which armay be considered or used by certain end users as a service distinct or additional to the online search engine. Such preferential or embedded display of a separate online intermediation service shall constitute a favouring irrespective of whether the information or results within the favoured groups of specialised results may also be provided by competing services and are as such ranked in anon- discriminatory way. Other instances are those of software applications which are distributed through software application stores, or products or services that are given prominence and display in the newsfeed of a social network, or products or services ranked in search results or displayed on an online marketplace. In those circumstances, the gatekeeper is in a dual- role position as intermediary for third party providers and as direct provider of products or services of the gatekeeper. Consequently, these gatekeepers have the ability to undermine directly the contestability for those products or services on these core platform services, to the detriment of business users which are not controlled by the gatekeeper.
2021/07/09
Committee: IMCO
Amendment 275 #
Proposal for a regulation
Recital 49
(49) In such situations, the gatekeeper should not engage in any form of differentiated or preferential treatment in ranking on the core platform service, whether through legal, commercial or technical means, in favour of products or services it offers itself or through a business user which it cooperates with controls. To ensure that this obligation is effective, it should also be ensured that the conditions that apply to such ranking are also generally fair and the gatekeeper's own products or services do not have more access to information about the ranking or any other competition-relevant aspects than products or services of third parties. Ranking should in this context cover all forms of relative prominence, including among others order, graphic display, rating, linking or voice results. To ensure that this obligation is effective and cannot be circumvented it should also apply to any measure that may have an equivalent effect to the differentiated or preferential treatment in ranking. Such an equivalent effect can for instance be achieved by ad formats that are used by users in a similar manner to the gatekeeper's or third parties' online intermediation services, or that benefit the gatekeeper in a similar manner to the preferential treatment in ranking itself (e.g., in terms of financial gains, user access/traffic or data access). The guidelines adopted pursuant to Article 5 of Regulation (EU) 2019/1150 should also facilitate the implementation and enforcement of this obligation.34 _________________ 34Commission Notice: Guidelines on ranking transparency pursuant to Regulation (EU) 2019/1150 of the European Parliament and of the Council (OJ C 424, 8.12.2020, p. 1).
2021/07/09
Committee: IMCO
Amendment 292 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article premier – paragraph 5
5. Member States shall not impose on gatekeepers further obligations by way of laws, regulations or administrative action for the purpose of ensuring contestable and fair markets. This is without prejudice to rules pursuing other legitimate public interests, in compliance with Union law. In particular, nothing in this Regulation precludes Member States from imposing obligations, which are compatible with Union lawpursue a legitimate public interest, on undertakings, including providers of core platform services where these obligations are unrelated to the relevant undertakings having a status of gatekeeper within the meaning of this Regulation in order to protect consumers or to fight against acts of unfair competition.
2021/09/09
Committee: ECON
Amendment 300 #
Proposal for a regulation
Recital 55
(55) Business users that use large core platform services provided by gatekeepers and end users of such business users provide and generate a vast amount of data, including data inferred from such use. In order to ensure that business users have access to the relevant data thus generated, the gatekeeper should, upon their request, allow unhindered access, free of charge, to such data. Such access should also be given to third parties contracted by the business user, who are acting as processors of this data for the business user. Data provided or generated by the same business users and the same end users of these business users in the context of other services provided by the same gatekeeper may be concerned where this is inextricably linked to the relevant request. To this end, a gatekeeper should not use any contractual or other restrictions to prevent business users from accessing relevant data and should enable business users to obtain consent of their end users for such data access and retrieval, where such consent is required under Regulation (EU) 2016/679 and Directive 2002/58/EC. The obtaining of this consent should be as user-friendly as possible and under the same conditions, such as the duration and renewal of consent, as those applied to the consent provided by the end user to the gatekeeper for the use of such data for its own services. Gatekeepers should also facilitate access to these data in real time by means of appropriate technical measures, such as for example putting in place high quality application programming interfaces.
2021/07/09
Committee: IMCO
Amendment 319 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 2 – paragraph 1 – point 2 – point h a (new)
(ha) web browsers;
2021/09/09
Committee: ECON
Amendment 323 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 2 – paragraph 1 – point 2 – point h b (new)
(hb) voice assistants;
2021/09/09
Committee: ECON
Amendment 351 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 2 – paragraph 1 – point 23 a (new)
(23a) 'Web browsers': software applications enabling users of client PCs, mobile devices and other devices to access and interact with web content hosted on servers connected to networks such as the Internet.
2021/09/09
Committee: ECON
Amendment 355 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 2 – paragraph 1 – point 23 b (new)
(23b) 'Voice assistants': a software application that is capable of oral dialogue with a user in natural language and which mediates between end users and professional users providing voice- based apps.
2021/09/09
Committee: ECON
Amendment 396 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 1 – paragraph 5
5. Member States shall not impose on gatekeepers further obligations by way of laws, regulations or administrative action for the purpose of ensuring contestable and fair markets. This is without prejudice toshall not affect rules pursuing other legitimate public interests, in compliance with Union law. In particular, nothing in this Regulation precludes Member States from imposing obligations, which are compatible with Union law, on undertakings, including providers of core platform services where these obligations are unrelated to the relevant undertakings having a status of gatekeeper within the meaning of this Regulation in order to protect consumers or to fight against acts of unfair competition, in order to pursue legitimate public interests.
2021/07/09
Committee: IMCO
Amendment 401 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 1 – paragraph 6
6. This Regulation is without prejudice to the application of Articles 101 and 102 TFEU. It is also without prejudice to the application of: national rules prohibiting anticompetitive agreements, decisions by associations of undertakings, concerted practices and abuses of dominant positions; national competition rules prohibiting other forms of unilateral conduct insofar as they are applied to undertakings other than gatekeepersse rules are unrelated to the relevant undertakings having a status of gatekeeper within the meaning of this regulation or amount to imposing additional obligations on gatekeepers; Council Regulation (EC) No 139/200438 and national rules concerning merger control; Regulation (EU) 2019/1150 and Regulation (EU) …./.. of the European Parliament and of the Council39 . In particular, nothing in this Regulation precludes Member States from imposing obligations on undertakings other than gatekeepers or additional obligations on gatekeepers. _________________ 38Council Regulation (EC) No 139/2004 of 20 January 2004 on the control of concentrations between undertakings (the EC Merger Regulation) (OJ L 24, 29.1.2004, p. 1). 39Regulation (EU) …/.. of the European Parliament and of the Council – proposal on a Single Market For Digital Services (Digital Services Act) and amending Directive 2000/31/EC.
2021/07/09
Committee: IMCO
Amendment 414 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 2 – paragraph 1 – point 2 – point a
(a) online intermediation services;, including digital voice assistants.
2021/07/09
Committee: IMCO
Amendment 425 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 2 – paragraph 1 – point 2 – point h
(h) advertising services, including any advertising networks, advertising exchanges and any other advertising intermediation services, provided by a provider where the undertaking to which it belongs is also a provider of any of the core platform services listed in points (a) to (g);
2021/07/09
Committee: IMCO
Amendment 431 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 2 – paragraph 1 – point 2 – point h a (new)
(h a) web browsers;
2021/07/09
Committee: IMCO
Amendment 435 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 5 – paragraph 1 – point a
(a) refrain from combining personal data sourced from these core platform services with personal data from any other services offered by the gatekeeper or with personal data from third-party services, and from signing in end users to other services of the gatekeeper in order to combine personal data, unless the end user has been presented with the specific choice and provided consent in the sense of Regulation (EU) 2016/679. except when disclosing data to third parties commissioned by one or more professional users to perform independent audience measurement with a view to ensuring market share transparency and safeguarding the general and/or public interests;
2021/09/09
Committee: ECON
Amendment 450 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 5 – paragraph 1 – point d
(d) refrain from directly or indirectly preventing or restricting business and end users from raising issues with any relevant public authority relating to any practice of gatekeepers, including by means of the reporting mechanism for professional and end users pursuant to Article 18a;
2021/09/09
Committee: ECON
Amendment 453 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 2 – paragraph 1 – point 10 a (new)
(10 a) ‘Web browsers’ are software used by users of client PCs, smart mobile devices and other devices to access and interact with web content hosted on servers that are connected to networks such as the Internet, including standalone web browsers as well as web browsers integrated or embedded in software or similar;
2021/07/09
Committee: IMCO
Amendment 469 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 2 – paragraph 1 – point 14
(14) ‘Ancillary service’ means services provided in the context of or together with core platform services, including retailing activities, payment services as defined in point 3 of Article 4 and technical services which support the provision of payment services as defined in Article 3(j) of Directive (EU) 2015/2366, fulfilment, identification or advertising services;
2021/07/09
Committee: IMCO
Amendment 473 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 2 – paragraph 1 – point 18
(18) ‘Ranking’ means the relative prominence given to goods or services offered through online intermediation services or online social networking services, or the relevance given to search results by online search engines, as presented, organised or communicated by the providers of online intermediation services or of online social networking services or by providers of online search engincore platform services, respectively, whatever the technological means used for such presentation, organisation or communication;.
2021/07/09
Committee: IMCO
Amendment 479 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 5 – paragraph 1 – point g a (new)
(ga) refrain from communicating, or using for its own purposes, sensitive information obtained in the context of an advertising service, or from using it for any purpose other than the performance of the service agreement concluded, unless the gatekeeper and its client have agreed otherwise.
2021/09/09
Committee: ECON
Amendment 480 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 2 – paragraph 1 – point 18 a (new)
(18 a) ‘Search results’ is any information in any format, including texts, graphics, voice or other output, returned in response and related to a written or oral search query, irrespective of whether the information is an organic result, a paid result, a direct answer or any product, service or information offered in connection with, or displayed along with, or partly or entirely embedded in, the organic results;
2021/07/09
Committee: IMCO
Amendment 483 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 2 – paragraph 1 – point 18 b (new)
(18 b) ‘Organic results’ are ‘search results’ that are solely based upon the relevance of the information to the end user and allow the end user to access the corresponding information directly;
2021/07/09
Committee: IMCO
Amendment 486 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 2 – paragraph 1 – point 23 a (new)
(23 a) ‘interoperability’ means the ability of the digital content or digital service, legally acquired, within a given ecosystem, to function with hardware or software ecosystems different from the one in which the digital content or digital service was originally provided, including the ability to access the digital content or digital service without having to use an application software or other technologies for conversion;
2021/07/09
Committee: IMCO
Amendment 495 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 6 – paragraph 1 – point a
(a) refrain from using, in competition with business users, any data not publicly available, which is generated through activities by those business users, including by the end users of these business users, of its core platform services or ancillary services or provided by those business users of its core platform services or by the end users of these business users via the core platform services or ancillary services;
2021/09/09
Committee: ECON
Amendment 500 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 6 – paragraph 1 – point b
(b) allowinform end users to un-installupon first use of any pre-installed software applications on its core platform service and of the option to un-install them, without prejudice to the possibility for a gatekeeper to restrict such un-installation in relation to software applications that are essential for the functioning of the operating system or of the device and which cannot technically be offered on a standalone basis by third- parties;
2021/09/09
Committee: ECON
Amendment 509 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 6 – paragraph 1 – point d
(d) refrain from treating more favourably in rankingor differently in terms of ranking, access or terms of service, or technical features and interfaces, services and products offered by the gatekeeper itself or by any third party belonging to the same undertaking compared to similar services or products of thirdany other party and apply fair and non-discriminatory conditions to such ranking; in terms of ranking, access or terms of service, and technical features and interfaces;
2021/09/09
Committee: ECON
Amendment 518 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 6 – paragraph 1 – point d a (new)
(da) have its online search engine, social networking or intermediation service display its own advertisements or services following an end-user query only if the search results are relevant, and inform the end user, by means of an explicit and easily identifiable statement to that effect, that the search result relates to an advertisement or service belonging to the gatekeeper itself;
2021/09/09
Committee: ECON
Amendment 523 #
(e) refrain from technically restricting the ability of end users to switch between and subscribe to different software applications andcontent or services to be accessed using the operating systemcore platform service of the gatekeeper, including as regards the choice of Internet access provider for end users, or the use of a voice assistant;
2021/09/09
Committee: ECON
Amendment 543 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 6 – paragraph 1 – point g
(g) provide advertisers and publishers, or third parties authorised by the advertisers and publishers, upon their request and free of charge, with access to the performance measuring tools of the gatekeeper and the information necessary for advertisers and publishers to carry out their own independent verification of the ad inventory;
2021/09/09
Committee: ECON
Amendment 550 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 6 – paragraph 1 – point h
(h) provide effective portability of data provided or generated through the activity of a business user or end user and shall, in particular, provide tools, foree of charge, to business users and end users to facilitate the exercise of data portability, in line with Regulation EU 2016/679, including by the provision of continuous and real-time access ;
2021/09/09
Committee: ECON
Amendment 557 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 6 – paragraph 1 – point i
(i) provide business users, or third parties authorised by a business user, free of charge, with effective, high-quality, continuous and real-time access and use of aggregated or non-aggregated data, that is provided for or generated in the context of the use of the relevant core platform servicesor ancillary services offered by the gatekeeper by those business users and the end users engaging with the products or services provided by those business users; for personal data, provide access and use only where directly connected with the use effectuated by the end user in respect of the products or services offered by the relevant business user through the relevant core platform service, and when the end user opts in to such sharing with a consent in the sense of the Regulation (EU) 2016/679; ;
2021/09/09
Committee: ECON
Amendment 563 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 6 – paragraph 1 – point k
(k) apply fair and non-discriminatory general conditions of access forand treatment to business users of its core platform service, in particular to business users tof its software application store, search engine, online payment service or online social networking service, designated pursuant to Article 3 of this Regulation.;
2021/09/09
Committee: ECON
Amendment 598 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 5 – paragraph 1 – point a
(a) refrain from combining personal data sourced from these core platform services with personal data from any other services offered by the gatekeeper or with personal data from third-party services, and from signing in end users to other services of the gatekeeper in order to combine personal data, unless the end user has been presented with the specific choice and provided consent in the sense of Regulation (EU) 2016/679 without prejudice to the disclosure of data to third parties that have been mandated by one or several business users to provide independent audience measurement in view of ensuring transparency over market shares and to uphold prevailing general and/or public interests and in accordance with the special rules and exemptions provided for these purposes. ;
2021/07/09
Committee: IMCO
Amendment 633 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 5 – paragraph 1 – point d
(d) refrain from directly or indirectly preventing or restricting business users or supplier to the gatekeeper’s ancillary service from raising issues with any relevant public authority or national court relating to any practice of gatekeepers;
2021/07/09
Committee: IMCO
Amendment 646 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 5 – paragraph 1 – point e
(e) refrain from requiring business users and suppliers to use, offer or interoperate with an identification service of the gatekeeper in the context of services offered by the business users using the core platform services of that gatekeeper or its other services;
2021/07/09
Committee: IMCO
Amendment 655 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 5 – paragraph 1 – point e
(e) refrain from requiring business users to use, offer or interoperate with an identification servicey ancillary of the gatekeeper in the context of services offered by the business users using the core platform services of that gatekeeper;
2021/07/09
Committee: IMCO
Amendment 659 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 5 – paragraph 1 – point f
(f) refrain from requiring business users or end users to subscribe to or register with any other core platform services identified pursuant to Article 3 or which meets the thresholds in Article 3(2)(b), or its other services, as a condition to access, sign up or register to any of their core platform services identified pursuant to that Article or to any other service offered by the gatekeeper;
2021/07/09
Committee: IMCO
Amendment 667 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 5 – paragraph 1 – point f a (new)
(f a) A platform must refrain from requiring ‘the acceptance of supplementary conditions or services that, by their nature or according to commercial usage, have no connection with and are not necessary for the provision of the platform or services to its business users’.
2021/07/09
Committee: IMCO
Amendment 682 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 5 – paragraph 1 – point g a (new)
(g a) Gatekeepers shall ensure that their terms and conditions with their business users and suppliers are transparent and fair (no disproportionate requirements for instance in terms of merchandise delivery conditions) and respect them. In case of in breach of such terms and conditions, possible sanctions should only be allowed if they are formally justified and proportionate (e.g.: no excessive penalties in case of delays in delivery of goods). Gatekeepers should be required to answer requests from their business users and suppliers within a reasonable period of time and, in case they are actively targeting such business users and suppliers (existence of a local website in their country), they should answer in their local language. They shall provide for an internal system for handling the complaints of business users and suppliers.
2021/07/09
Committee: IMCO
Amendment 684 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 14 – paragraph 1
1. When the Commission intends to carry out a market investigation in view of the possible adoption of decisions pursuant to Articles 15, 16, 16a and 17, it shall adopt a decision opening a market investigation.
2021/09/09
Committee: ECON
Amendment 689 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 5 – paragraph 1 – point g a (new)
(g a) Refrain from disclosing any commercially sensitive information obtained in connection with one of its advertising services to any third party belonging to the same undertaking and from using such commercially sensitive information for any purposes other than the provision of the specific advertising service unless this is necessary for carrying out a business transaction.
2021/07/09
Committee: IMCO
Amendment 702 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 5 – paragraph 1 – point g b (new)
(g b) allow Business Users or End Users to annually renew their consent to enroll or register for any of its essential platform services identified under section 3 and its other services, and in the absence of consent, promptly delete all Business User or End User data.
2021/07/09
Committee: IMCO
Amendment 710 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 6 – paragraph 1 – point a
(a) refrain from using, in competition with business users and ancillary service (notably distribution) suppliers, any data not n-publicly available, which is generated through activities by those business users, or suppliers, or their competitors, including by the end users of these business users or their competitors, of its core platform services or provided by those business users, of its core platform servicer suppliers, or their competitors or by the end users of these business users or their competitors;
2021/07/09
Committee: IMCO
Amendment 717 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 16 a (new)
Article 16a Market investigation and tailor-made remedies to ensure markets are contestable and fair. 1. The Commission may carry out a market investigation, pursuant to Article 17, in order to ascertain whether tailor- made remedies, in accordance with paragraph 2, should be imposed on a gatekeeper in order to ensure that the markets of core platform services are contestable and fair. The Commission shall conclude its investigation by adopting a decision within 12 months of the opening of the market investigation. 2. Where the market investigation carried out in accordance with paragraph 1 finds that the obligations laid down in Articles 5 and 6 are insufficient to prevent a gatekeeper from adopting practices that limit the contestability of core platform services or are unfair within the meaning of Article 10(2) in the same way as the practices targeted by the obligations laid down in Articles 5 and 6, the Commission may impose, by way of a duly reasoned decision adopted via the advisory procedure referred to in Article 32(4), the necessary proportionate remedies on the basis of the principles set out in paragraph 4, in order to ensure the objectives of this Regulation. 3. In its market investigation, the Commission shall take into account all relevant information provided by the third parties concerned, such as the professional and end users. 4. When it adopts its decision pursuant to paragraph 2, the Commission shall take the measures deemed appropriate and necessary. These measures may concern: (a) access to platforms (including obligations relating to interoperability, granting access to core APIs and the application of common standards); (b) data-related measures (including obligations relating to data mobility and granting access to core data, and data silos); (c) fair commercial relations (including non-discrimination requirements, prohibitions on self-referencing that distorts competition, and obligations to apply fair contractual terms); (d) the freedom of choice of end users and professional users (including obligations to proactively offer users options, regulating default values and designing a chosen architecture). 5. The Commission shall communicate its objections to the gatekeeper concerned within six months of the opening of the investigation. In its objections, the Commission shall state whether its preliminary assessment is that the conditions of paragraphs 1 and 2 have been met and which remedy or remedies it has preliminarily identified as necessary and proportionate. In this assessment, the Commission shall consider the technical and economic viability of the measures for the gatekeeper, as well as the long- term impact on end users and innovation. 6. At any point in the market investigation, the Commission may extend its duration, where justified on objective and proportionate grounds. The extension may apply to the time frame within which the Commission must issue its objections, or to the deadline for adoption of the final decision. The total duration of any extension granted pursuant to this paragraph shall not exceed six months.
2021/09/09
Committee: ECON
Amendment 719 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 17 – paragraph 1
The Commission may conduct a market investigation with the purpose of examining whether one or more services within the digital sector should be added to the list of core platform services or to detect types of practices that may limit the contestability of core platform services or may be unfair and which are not effectively addressed by this Regulation. It shall issue a public report at the latest within 124 months from the opening of the market investigation.
2021/09/09
Committee: ECON
Amendment 726 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 18 a (new)
Article 18a Reporting mechanism for professional and end users 1. Professional users, including competitors, and end users of the core platform services defined in Article 2(2) may, in a report, notify the Commission or a national competition authority of any practice or behaviour on the part of a gatekeeper that falls within the scope of this Regulation. The Commission shall grant the Member States access to these reports. 2. If the report pursuant to paragraph 1 is received by a national competition authority, it shall be forwarded directly to the Commission. 3. The Commission shall establish the conditions for submission of the reports referred to in paragraph 1. It shall also establish the conditions in which the Member States, in particular the national competition authorities, are notified of and given access to these reports. 4. The Commission shall have the power to set its priorities for examining the reports referred to paragraph 1. Subject to the provisions of paragraph 5 below and of Article 33, the Commission shall have the power to choose to not examine a report where it does not consider that report to be an enforcement priority. 5. When the Commission considers that a report is an enforcement priority, it may open proceedings pursuant to Article 18 or a market investigation pursuant to Article 14.
2021/09/09
Committee: ECON
Amendment 730 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 6 – paragraph 1 – point c
(c) allow and technically enable the installation and effective use and interoperability of third party software applications or software application stores using, or interoperating with, operating systems of that gatekeeper and allow and enable these software applications or software application stores or services to be accessed by means other than the core platform services of that gatekeeper. The gatekeeper shall not be prevented from taking proportionate measures to ensure that third party software applications or software application stores or services do not endanger the integrity of the hardware or operating system provided by the gatekeeper. This should be without prejudice to the role gatekeepers play in the fight against illegal content online;
2021/07/09
Committee: IMCO
Amendment 744 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 6 – paragraph 1 – point d
(d) refrain from treating more favourably in ranking and other settings, as well as in access to and conditions for the use of services, functionalities or technical interfaces, services and products offered by the gatekeeper itself or by any third party belonging to the same undertaking compared to similar services or products of othirder partyies, and apply fair and non-discriminatory conditions to such pranking;ctices.
2021/07/09
Committee: IMCO
Amendment 755 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 6 – paragraph 1 – point d a (new)
(d a) refrain from displaying, in its online search engine, online social networking service or online intermediation service, in response to an end user query, advertising (including paid-for search results) or own services of the gatekeeper if the space occupied by such advertising or own services exceeds in total 25% of the initial result screen visible on the end user’s terminal (mobile, tablet, desktop or other);
2021/07/09
Committee: IMCO
Amendment 760 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 6 – paragraph 1 – point e
(e) refrain from technically restricting the ability of end users to switch between and subscribe to different software applications and services to be accessed using the operating system of the gatekeeper, including as regards the choice of Internet access provider for end usersonline content or services to be accessed using the core plateform service of the gatekeeper, including as regards the choice of Internet access provider for end users. In connection with the protection of end- users' terminal equipment during the use of the operating system of the gatekeeper, the gatekeeper shall ensure that consent directly expressed by an end-user to a service provider prevails over software settings. Any consent requested and given by an end-user to a service shall be directly implemented, without any further delay, by the applications of the end user’s terminal equipment. The same shall apply if the storage of information or the access of information already stored in the end-user’s terminal equipment is permitted in any other legal basis than consent;
2021/07/09
Committee: IMCO
Amendment 768 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 6 – paragraph 1 – point f
(f) allow business users and providers of ancillary services access to and interoperability with the same operating system, hardware or software features that are available or used in the provision by the gatekeeper of any core platform or ancillary services. Allow the supply of content exclusively in an open format upon content suppliers’ request. Allow the proper functioning of technological protection measures (TPMs) in cases these are used to manage the rights of the user. However the gatekeeper should ensure that TPMs linked to a file are not solely compliant with a single reading environment. In this case, other suppliers of files and reading service providers should have the possibility to require gatekeepers to provide the information that is necessary for the purpose of interoperability;
2021/07/09
Committee: IMCO
Amendment 779 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 6 – paragraph 1 – point f a (new)
(f a) Allow end users of technologically protected digital content or digital service, legally acquired through third party services, access to and interoperability with the hardware or software features that are used by that gatekeeper when providing a similar technologically protected digital content or digital service; and allow end users of technologically protected digital content or digital service acquired through that gatekeeper access to and interoperability with the hardware or software features that are used by third party when providing a similar technologically protected digital content or digital service. Gatekeepers’ suppliers, as well as third-party hardware providers should have the possibility to require gatekeepers to provide the necessary interoperability information to comply with the purpose of this Regulation;
2021/07/09
Committee: IMCO
Amendment 785 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 31 a (new)
Article 31a Cooperation with the national competition authorities and their powers 1. The Commission shall ensure that the reports forwarded pursuant to Article 16b of this Regulation are made available to the national competition authorities within the European Competition Network, defined in Article 2(1)(5) of Directive (EU) 2019/1. 2. The Commission shall circulate within the European Competition Network the decisions relating to the opening of a market investigation pursuant to Article 14 or proceedings pursuant to Article 18. The national competition authorities may provide the Commission, on a voluntary basis, with any information deemed helpful and necessary for the purpose of the market investigation carried out pursuant to Articles 15, 16, 16a and 17, and shall provide the Commission with assistance, upon request, in implementing Articles 19, 20 and 21.
2021/09/09
Committee: ECON
Amendment 792 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 6 – paragraph 1 – point h
(h) provide effective portability of data provided for or generated through or in the context of the activity of a business user, or end user and shall, in particular, provide tools forgenerated by goods and services provided by a supplier to the gatekeeper’s ancillary service notably distribution or an end user and shall, in particular, provide free of charge tools for business users and end users to facilitate the exercise of data portability, in line with Regulation (EU )2016/679, including by the provision of continuous and real-time access and guarantees their interoperability ;
2021/07/09
Committee: IMCO
Amendment 794 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 33 – paragraph 1
1. When three or more Member States request the Commission to open an investigation pursuant to Article 15 because they consider that there are reasonable grounds to suspect that a provider of core platform services should be designated as a gatekeeper4, the Commission shall within four months examine whether there are reasonable grounds to open such an investigation.
2021/09/09
Committee: ECON
Amendment 834 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 6 – paragraph 2
2. For the purposes of point (a) of paragraph 1, data that is not publicly available shall include any aggregated and non-aggregated data generated by business users or generated by goods and services provided by a supplier to the gatekeeper’s ancillary services notably distribution, that can be inferred from, or collected through, the commercial activities of business users or their customers on the core platform, distribution or other ancillary service of the gatekeeper.
2021/07/09
Committee: IMCO
Amendment 940 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 11 – paragraph 2
2. Where consent for collecting and processing of personal data is required to ensure compliance with this Regulation, a gatekeeper shall take the necessary steps to either enable business users to directly obtain at the level of their own services or products the required consent to their processing, where required under Regulation (EU) 2016/679 and Directive 2002/58/EC, or to comply with Union data protection and privacy rules and principles . The gatekeeper shall not make the obtaining other ways including by providing business users with duly anonymised data where appropriate. The gatekeeper shall not make the obtaining of this consent by the business user more burdensome than for its own servicesf this consent by the business user more burdensome than for its own services. In case consent is directly expressed by the end-user at the level of the services offered by the business user through the relevant core platform service, it shall prevail over any consent provided at the gatekeeper level.
2021/07/09
Committee: IMCO
Amendment 1000 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 15 – paragraph 4
4. When the Commission pursuant to Article 3(6) designates as a gatekeeper a provider of core platform services that does not yet enjoy an entrenched and durable position in its operations, but it is foreseeable that it will enjoy such a position in the near future, it shall declare applicable to that gatekeeper only obligations laid down in Article 5(b) and Article 6(1) points (e), (f), (h) and (i) as specified in the designation decision. The Commission shall only declare applicable those obligations that are appropriate and necessary to prevent that the gatekeeper concerned achieves by unfair means an entrenched and durable position in its operations. The Commission shall review such a designation in accordance with the procedure laid down in Article 4.
2021/07/09
Committee: IMCO