Activities of Edina TÓTH related to 2020/2019(INL)
Shadow opinions (1)
OPINION with recommendations to the Commission on Digital Services Act: adapting commercial and civil law rules for commercial entities operating online
Amendments (10)
Amendment 4 #
Draft opinion
Recital C a (new)
Recital C a (new)
Ca. Whereas Regulation (EU) 2017/23941a has a pivotal role in enhancing cooperation amongst national authorities in the field of consumer protection; __________________ 1aRegulation (EU) 2017/2394 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 12 December 2017 on cooperation between national authorities responsible for the enforcement of consumer protection laws and repealing Regulation (EC) No 2006/2004 (OJ L 345, 27.12.2017, p. 1).
Amendment 7 #
Draft opinion
Recital C b (new)
Recital C b (new)
Cb. Whereas Regulation (EU) 2016/6791a (GDPR) establishes the rules on the processing of personal data and on the protection of personal data; __________________ 1a Regulation (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).
Amendment 9 #
Draft opinion
Recital C c (new)
Recital C c (new)
Cc. Whereas Directive 2002/58/EC1a ensures that all communications over public networks maintain respect for a high level of data protection and privacy; __________________ 1aDirective 2002/58/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 12 July 2002 concerning the processing of personal data and the protection of privacy in the electronic communications sector (Directive on privacy and electronic communications) (OJ L 201, 31.7.2002, p. 37).
Amendment 10 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 1
Paragraph 1
1. Welcomes the “CPC Common Position COVID-19”3 issued by the Commission and the Consumer Protection Cooperation (CPC) authorities of the Member States on the most recent reported scams and unfair practices in relation to the COVID-19 outbreak; stresses the necessity to better protect consumers by providing reliable and transparent information on malpractices, such as misleading claims and scams for products in high demand; calls on all platforms to cooperate with the Commission and the competent authorities of the CPC network and members of the European Consumer Centres (ECC) to better identify illegal practices, take down scams and asks the Commission to constantly review the common guidelines for the placement and/or sale of items and services of a false, misleading or otherwise abusive content for consumers; believes such guidelines should not only seek to apply Union and national consumer law, but to proactively seek to put in place the means to react to the crisis in the market rapidly; __________________ 3European Commission / Consumer Protection Cooperation (CPC) Network, Common Position of CPC Authorities, “Stopping scams and tackling unfair business practices on online platforms in the context of the Coronavirus outbreak in the EU”.
Amendment 32 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 2
Paragraph 2
2. Welcomes efforts to bring transparency to advertising online and considers that further clarity and guidance is needed as regards professional diligence and obligations for platforms; believes that where advertisers and intermediaries are established in a third country, they should designate a legal representative, established in the Union, who can be held accountable for the content of advertisementsproducts they sell, in order to allow for consumer redress in the case of false or misleading advertisements;
Amendment 39 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 3
Paragraph 3
3. Asks the Commission to clarify what sanctions or other restrictions those advertisement intermediaries and platforms should be subject to if they knowingly accept false or misleading advertisements; believes that online platforms should actively monitor the advertisements shown on their sites, stresses the importance of common understanding order to ensure they do not profit from false or misleading advertisements, including from influencer marketing content which is not being disclosed as sponsoredn what constitutes false or misleading advertisement; underlines that advertisements for commercial products and services, and advertisements of a political or other nature are different in form and function and therefore should be subject to different guidelines and rules;
Amendment 54 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 4
Paragraph 4
4. While recalling earlier efforts, asks the Commission to further review the practice of End User Licensing Agreements (EULAs) and to seek ways to allow greater and easier engagement for consumers, including in the choice of clauses; notes that EULAs are often accepted by users without reading themso far the consumer has no choice but to agree with the terms of EULAs; moreover notes that when a EULA does allow for users to opt-out of clauses, platforms may require users to do so at each use; asks the Commission to introduce guidance for platforms on how to better inform consumers about the terms of EULAs, such as a pop-up message comprising key information thereof;
Amendment 62 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 5
Paragraph 5
5. Underlines that EULAs should always make the sharing of all data with third parties optional unless vital to the functioning of the services, under the terms of EULAs, consumers should be free to give consent for sharing some or all of their data with third parties, unless there are legal grounds for the lawfulness of sharing of data; asks the Commission to ensure that consumers can still use a connected device for all its primary functions, even if a consumers do not give or withdraws their consent to share non- operational data with the device manufacturer or third parties;
Amendment 74 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 7
Paragraph 7
7. Notes the rise of “smart contracts” based on distributed ledger technologies; asks the Commission to analyse if certain aspects of “smart contracts” should, that need to be clarified and ifprovide guidance should be giventhereabout, in order to ensure legal certainty for businesses and consumers; asks especially for the Commission to work to ensure that such contracts with consumers are valid and binding throughout the Union; that they meet the standards of consumer law, for example the right of withdrawal under Directive 2011/83/EU4 ; and that they"smart contracts" are not subject to national barriers to application, such as notarisation requiremen when it comes to their validity requirements as consumer contracts; __________________ 4 Directive 2011/83/EU of the European Parliament and of the Council of 25 October 2011 on consumer rights, amending Council Directive 93/13/EEC and Directive 1999/44/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council and repealing Council Directive 85/577/EEC and Directive 97/7/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council (OJ L 304, 22.11.2011, p. 64).
Amendment 79 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 8
Paragraph 8
8. Stresses that any future legislative proposals should seek to remove current and prevent potentially new unjustified barriers in the supply of digital services by online platforms, as well as foster an online environment free of illegal content that would be detrimental to Union consumers and the economy of the Union; underlines, at the same time, that new Union obligations on platforms must be proportional and clear in nature in order to avoid unnecessary regulatory burdens or unnecessary restrictions; underlines the need to prevent gold-plating practices of Union legislation by Member States.