55 Amendments of Andreas SCHWAB related to 2020/2018(INL)
Amendment 22 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital B
Recital B
B. whereas the Directive 2000/31/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council2 (“the E-Commerce Directive”) has been one of the most successful pieces of Union legislation and has shaped the Digital Single Market as we know it today; whereas the E-Commerce Directive was adopted 20 years ago and no longer adequately reflects the rapid transformation and expansion of, but has been adapted to today's e- commerce in all its forms, with its multitude of different emerging services, providers and challengeslandscape with sector-specific legislation; __________________ 2 Directive 2000/31/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 8 June 2000 on certain legal aspects of information society services, in particular electronic commerce, in the Internal Market ('Directive on electronic commerce') (OJ L 178, 17.7.2000, p. 1).
Amendment 61 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 1
Paragraph 1
1. Welcomes the Commission’s commitment to submit a proposal for a Digital Services Act package, consisting of a directive amending the E-Commerce Directive and a proposal for a Regulation on ex-ante rules on large platforms with a gatekeeper role, and, on the basis of Article 225 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union (TFEU), calls on the Commission to submit such a package on the basis of the relevant Articles of the Treaties, following the recommendations set out in the Annex hereto;
Amendment 78 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 2
Paragraph 2
2. Recognises the importance of the legal framework set out by the E- Commerce Directive in the development of online services in the Union and in particular its internal market clause, through which home country control and the obligation on Member States to ensure the free movement of information society services have been established and underlines the importance the E- Commerce Directive has had in the development of the Digital Single Market;
Amendment 80 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 2 a (new)
Paragraph 2 a (new)
(a) Stresses the importance to address the remaining unjustified obstacles to the Digital Single Market and avoid protectionist measures, which are sometimes used by Member States to boost national competition. For example, settling the costs of cross-border disputes, suppliers’ restrictions to selling cross- border, delivery-related matters, taxation rules, limited cross-border access to goods and services due to differences in intellectual property rights law, access to information on the relevant regulatory requirements, complex administrative procedures, as well as ensuring that no new barriers are created;
Amendment 82 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 2 a (new)
Paragraph 2 a (new)
2a. Stresses especially the importance of the internal market clause and reminds that remaining unjustified obstacles to the digital single market need to be addressed in order to make use of its full potential;
Amendment 87 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 3
Paragraph 3
3. Considers that the main principles of the E-Commerce Directive, such as the internal market clause, freedom of establishment and the prohibition on imposing a general monitoring obligation should be maintained; underlines that the principle of “what is illegal offline is also illegal online”, as well as the principles of consumer protection and user safety, should also become guiding principles of the future regulatory framework; highlights that all platforms must have the same duty to protect consumers whereby asymmetrical legislation which targets only certain market actors can be introduced solely as a means to tackle market-related problems;
Amendment 103 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 4
Paragraph 4
4. Stresses that a future-proof, comprehensive EU-level framework and fair competition are crucial in order to promote the growth of European small- scale platforms, small and medium enterprises (SMEs), micro companies, entrepreneurs and start-ups, prevent market fragmentation and provide European businesses with a level playing field that enables them to better profit from the digital services market and be more competitive on the world stage;
Amendment 111 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 5
Paragraph 5
Amendment 133 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 6
Paragraph 6
6. Considers that the Digital Services Act should be based on public values of the Union protecting citizens’ rights should aim to foster the creation of a rich and diverse online ecosystem with a wide range of online services, favourable digital environment and legal certainty to unlock the full potential of the Digital Single Market; believes that the EU should focus on removing existing obstacles in the Digital Single Market and on ensuring consumer and fundamental rights protection as one of the main objectives of the reform of the E-Commerce Directive; considers in this context that the Single Market objective can only be achieved if consumer trust is ensured; believes that the updated E-Commerce rules must clearly establish that consumer law and product safety requirements fall within their scope of application in order to ensure legal certainty;
Amendment 169 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 8
Paragraph 8
8. Notes that information society services providers, and in particular online platforms andincluding social networking sites - because of their wide-reaching ability to reach and influence broader audiences, behaviour, opinions, and practices - bear significant social responsibility in terms of protecting users and society at large and preventing their services from being exploited abusively.
Amendment 182 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 9
Paragraph 9
9. Recalls that recent scandals regarding data harvesting and selling, Cambridge Analytica, fake news, political advertising and manipulation and a host of other online harms (from hate speech to the broadcast of terrorism) have shown the need to revisit the existing rules and reinforce protection of fundamental rights online;
Amendment 207 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 12
Paragraph 12
12. Stresses that this problem is aggravated by the fact that often the identity of these companies cannot be establishfraudulent companies and individuals cannot be established; and therefore, consumers cannot seek compensation for the damages and losses experienced;
Amendment 235 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 14
Paragraph 14
14. Calls on the Commission to require service providers to continuously verify the information and identity of the business partners with whom they have a contractual commercial relationship, and to ensure that the information they provide is accurate and up-to-date;
Amendment 249 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 15 a (new)
Paragraph 15 a (new)
Amendment 257 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 16
Paragraph 16
16. Stresses that existing obligations, set out in the E-Commerce Directive and the Directive 2005/29/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council (‘Unfair Commercial Practices Directiveʼ)3 on transparency of commercial communications and digital advertising should be strengthened; points out that pressing consumer protection concerns about profiling, targeting and personalised pricing cannot be addressed by transparency obligations and left to consumer choice alone; therefore calls on the European Commission to assess the need of introducing additional measures; __________________ 3 Directive 2005/29/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 11 May 2005 concerning unfair business-to- consumer commercial practices in the internal market and amending Council Directive 84/450/EEC, Directives 97/7/EC, 98/27/EC and 2002/65/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council and Regulation (EC) No 2006/2004 of the European Parliament and of the Council (OJ L 149, 11.6.2005, p. 22).
Amendment 260 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 16
Paragraph 16
16. Stresses that existing obligations, set out in the E-Commerce Directive and the Directive 2005/29/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council (‘Unfair Commercial Practices Directiveʼ)3 on transparency of commercial communications and digital advertising should be strengthened; points out that pressing consumer protection concerns about profiling, targeting and personalised pricing cannotshould be addressed by, among others, by clear transparency obligations and left to consumer choice aloneinformation requirements; __________________ 3 Directive 2005/29/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 11 May 2005 concerning unfair business-to- consumer commercial practices in the internal market and amending Council Directive 84/450/EEC, Directives 97/7/EC, 98/27/EC and 2002/65/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council and Regulation (EC) No 2006/2004 of the European Parliament and of the Council (OJ L 149, 11.6.2005, p. 22).
Amendment 285 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 18
Paragraph 18
18. Considers that consumers should be properly informed and their rights should be effectively guaranteed when they interact with automated decision-making systems and other innovative digital services or applications; considers it essential that automatic decision-making systems do not generate unfairly biased outputs for consumers in the single market; believes that it should be always possible for consumers to be properly informed about interacting with automated decision-making, and about how to reach a human with decision- making powers to request checks and corrections of possible mistakes resulting from automated decisions, as well as to seek redress for any damage related to the use of automated decision-making systems;
Amendment 296 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 18 a (new)
Paragraph 18 a (new)
18a. Underlines the importance of the use of data by digital platforms and that the accumulation of vast amounts of data by large technological enterprises creates imbalances in bargaining power and, thus, leads to the distortion of competition in the Single Market;
Amendment 323 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 20
Paragraph 20
20. Notes that there is no ‘one size fits all’ solution to all types of illegal and harmful content and cases of misinformation online; believes, however, that a more aligned approach at Union level, taking into account the different types of content, will make the fight against illegal content more effreiterates therefore the importance of the sector-specific legislation that has been established in the past and stresses that it should not be put into question by the revision of the E- Commerce directive;
Amendment 344 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 21 a (new)
Paragraph 21 a (new)
21a. Believes that where intermediaries are established in a third country, they should designate a legal representative, established in the Union, who can be held accountable for the products they offer;
Amendment 362 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 22
Paragraph 22
22. Calls on the Commission to address the increasing differences and fragmentations of national rules in the Member States and to propose concrete legislative measures including a harmonised notice- and-action mechanism, that can empower users to notify online intermediaries of the existence of potentially illegal online content or behaviour; is of the opinion that such measures would guarantee a high level of users' and consumers' protection while promoting consumer trust in the online economy;
Amendment 375 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 23
Paragraph 23
23. Stresses that maintaining safeguards from the legal liability regime for hosting intermediaries with regard to user-uploaded content and the general monitoring prohibition set out in Article 15 of the E-Commerce Directive are still relevant and need to be preserved yet adapted to the current digital environment, meaning the rapid transformation and expansion of e- commerce in all its forms, with its multitude of different emerging services, providers and challenges;
Amendment 392 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 24
Paragraph 24
24. Notes that while online platforms, such as online market places, have benefited both retailers and consumers by improving choice and lowering prices, at the same time, they have allowed sellers, in particular from third countries, to offer products which often do not comply with Union rules on product safety and do not sufficiently guarantee consumer rights; stresses, in this context, the need for a possibility to always identify manufacturers and sellers of products from third countries; underlines that if one of the services provided by a platform can be considered a marketplace ("hybrid platforms"), the rules should fully apply to that part of the business; and asks the online marketplaces to enhance their cooperation by exchanging information on the seller of these products with the market surveillance and the custom authorities;
Amendment 409 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 25
Paragraph 25
25. Stresses that it is unacceptable that Union consumers are exposed to illegal and unsafe products, containing dangerous chemicals, as well as other safety hazards;
Amendment 443 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 27 a (new)
Paragraph 27 a (new)
27a. Notes in particular, that the use of data from one market to expand into another can be problematic as well as the possibility or obligation to use one e- identification designed by one service provider for several platforms;
Amendment 448 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 28
Paragraph 28
28. Considers that by reducing barriers to market entry and by regulating large platforms, an internal market instrument imposing ex-ante regulatory remedies on these large platforms has the potential to open up markets to new entrants, including SMEs and start-ups, thereby promoting consumer choice and driving innovation beyond what can be achieved by competition law enforcement alone; and considers that such regulation should build upon the Platform to Business Regulation.1a __________________ 1aRegulation (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).
Amendment 454 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 28
Paragraph 28
28. Considers that by reducing barriers to market entry and by regulating large platforms, an internal market instrument imposing ex-ante regulatory remedies on these large platforms has the potential to open up markets to new entrants, including SMEs, entrepreneurs and start-ups, thereby promoting consumer choice and driving innovation beyond what can be achieved by competition law enforcement alone;
Amendment 461 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 28 a (new)
Paragraph 28 a (new)
28a. Believes that the ex-ante regulatory instrument should ensure fair trading conditions on all platforms, including possible additional requirements – for example, a list of obligations /prohibitions – for those that play a gatekeeper role;
Amendment 471 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 29 a (new)
Paragraph 29 a (new)
(a) Believes that the root cause of the remaining unjustified obstacles in the digital single market stem from different regulatory choices at Union and at national level, imperfect or inadequate transposition, implementation and enforcement of Union legislation, insufficient administrative capacity and practices in Member States, as well as from protectionist measures carried out by Member States; calls on the Commission to address those causes in close cooperation with Member States;
Amendment 482 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 30
Paragraph 30
30. Considers that a central regulatory authority should be established whichthe Commission should be responsible for the oversight and compliance with the Digital Services Act and have supplementary powers to tackle cross-border issues; it should be entrusted with investigation and enforcement powers;
Amendment 486 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 31
Paragraph 31
Amendment 507 #
Motion for a resolution
Annex I – part I – paragraph 1
Annex I – part I – paragraph 1
The Digital Services Act should contribute to the strengthening of the internal market by ensuring the free movement of digital services, while at the same time guaranteeing a high level of consumer protection, includingand the improvement of users’ safety online;
Amendment 509 #
Motion for a resolution
Annex I – part I – paragraph 1 a (new)
Annex I – part I – paragraph 1 a (new)
The Digital Services Act should contribute to the removal of the existing unjustified obstacles to the digital single market, which many times arise from protectionist measures by Member States, as well as ensuring that no new barriers are created;
Amendment 524 #
Motion for a resolution
Annex I – part I – paragraph 6 – indent 1 – introductory part
Annex I – part I – paragraph 6 – indent 1 – introductory part
- a comprehensive revision of the E- Commerce Directive, in the form of a Directive, based on Articles 53(1), 62 and 114 TFEU, consisting of:;
Amendment 543 #
Motion for a resolution
Annex I – part I – paragraph 6 – indent 2
Annex I – part I – paragraph 6 – indent 2
- an internal market legal instrument in the form of a Regulation, based on Article 114 TFEU, imposing ex-ante obligations on large platforms with a gatekeeper role in the digital ecosystem, complemented by an effective institutional enforcement mechanism.
Amendment 572 #
Motion for a resolution
Annex I – part III – paragraph 1 – indent 1
Annex I – part III – paragraph 1 – indent 1
- clarify to what extent “"new digital services”", such as social media networks, collaborative economy services, search engines, wifi hotspots, online advertising, comparison tools, cloud services, content delivery networks, and domain name services fall within the scope of the Digital Services Act;
Amendment 583 #
Motion for a resolution
Annex I – part III – paragraph 1 – indent 4
Annex I – part III – paragraph 1 – indent 4
- clarify of what falls within the remit of the "illegal content”", definition making it clear that a violation of EU rules on consumer protection, product safety or the offer or sale of food or tobacco products and counterfeit medicines, also falls within the definition of illegal content; it is also necessary to clarify what falls under "harmful content" and "disinformation";
Amendment 590 #
Motion for a resolution
Annex I – part III – paragraph 1 – indent 5
Annex I – part III – paragraph 1 – indent 5
- define “"systemic operator”" by establishing a set of clear economic indicators that allow regulatory authorities to identify platforms which enjoy a significant market position with a “"gatekeeper”" role playing a systemic role in the online economy; such indicators could include considerations such as whether the undertaking is active to a significant extent on multi-sided markets, or has predominant influence over its users, the size of its network (number of users), its financial strength, access to data, accumulation of data, vertical integration, the importance of its activity for third parties’ access to supply and markets, etc.
Amendment 618 #
Motion for a resolution
Annex I – part IV – paragraph 1 – subparagraph 1 – indent 2
Annex I – part IV – paragraph 1 – subparagraph 1 – indent 2
- that measure should apply only to business-to-business relationships, and should be without prejudice to the rights of users under the GDPR, as well as the right to internet anonymo the possibility orf being an unidentified useronymous on the internet; the new general information requirements should review and further enhance Articles 5 and 10 of the E- Commerce Directive in order to align those measures with the information requirements established in recently adopted legislation, in particular the Unfair Contract Terms Directive5 , the Consumer Rights Directive and the Platform to Business Regulation. __________________ 5 Council Directive 93/13/EEC of 5 April 1993 on unfair terms in consumer contracts, most recently amended by Directive (EU) 2019/2161 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 27 November 2019 amending Council Directive 93/13/EEC and Directives 98/6/EC, 2005/29/EC and 2011/83/EU of the European Parliament and of the Council as regards the better enforcement and modernisation of Union consumer protection rules (OJ L 328, 18.12.2019, p. 7).
Amendment 619 #
Motion for a resolution
Annex I – part IV – paragraph 1 – subparagraph 1 – indent 2 a (new)
Annex I – part IV – paragraph 1 – subparagraph 1 – indent 2 a (new)
- Measures to address the problem of fake profiles of users and service providers should be explored by the Commission. Information society service providers and users should be identifiable by authorities if needed; this would be the case if they commit an illegal activity online. The Commission should come up with measures that allow judiciary authorities to identify and catch in a very agile way those users that carry out illegal activities (to protect both, users and platforms), while preserving the data protection rights of each user. The creation of a digital identity could be a solution to this challenge.
Amendment 645 #
Motion for a resolution
Annex I – part IV – paragraph 1 – subheading 3 – indent 3
Annex I – part IV – paragraph 1 – subheading 3 – indent 3
- The transparency requirements should include the obligation to disclose who is paying for the advertising, including both direct and indirect payments or any other contributions received by service providers; those requirements should apply also to platforms, even if they are established in third countries; consumers and public authorities should be able to identify who should be held accountable in case of, for example, false or misleading advertisement; these transparency requirements should also empower advertisers vis-a-vis advertising services, when it comes to where and when ads are placed; more efforts are needed to make sure that illegal activities cannot be funded via advertising services;
Amendment 651 #
Motion for a resolution
Annex I – part IV – paragraph 1 – subheading 3 – indent 3 b (new)
Annex I – part IV – paragraph 1 – subheading 3 – indent 3 b (new)
- Specific requirements in regard to behavioural advertising, including micro targeting, should be introduced in order to protect public interest; behavioural advertising based on certain characters, i.e. exposing mental or physical vulnerabilities, should not be allowed at all, while some other characteristics should be allowed only under the opt-in condition by the users;
Amendment 751 #
Motion for a resolution
Annex I – part V – paragraph 2 – indent 11
Annex I – part V – paragraph 2 – indent 11
- create an obligation for the online intermediaries to verify the notified content and reply in a timely manner to the notice provider and the content uploader with a reasoned decision;
Amendment 763 #
Motion for a resolution
Annex I – part V – subheading 2 – indent 1
Annex I – part V – subheading 2 – indent 1
- The decision taken by the online intermediary on whether or not to act upon content flagged as illegal should contain a clear justification on the actions undertaken regarding that specific content. The notice provider, where identifiable, should receive a confirmation of receipt and a communication indicating the follow-up given to the notification.
Amendment 808 #
Motion for a resolution
Annex I – part VI – paragraph 1
Annex I – part VI – paragraph 1
The Digital Services Act should propose specific rules for online market places for the online sale of products and provision of services to consumers.
Amendment 811 #
Motion for a resolution
Annex I – part VI – paragraph 2 – indent 3
Annex I – part VI – paragraph 2 – indent 3
- ensure that online marketplaces make it clear into which country the products are sold or services are being provided, regardless whether they are provided by that marketplace, a third party or a seller established inside or outside the Union;
Amendment 849 #
Motion for a resolution
Annex I – part VII – paragraph 1
Annex I – part VII – paragraph 1
The Digital Services Act should put forward a proposal to ensure that the systemic role of specific online platforms will not endanger the internal market by unfairly excluding innovative new entrants, including SMEs., entrepreneurs and start- ups, creating market failures;
Amendment 856 #
Motion for a resolution
Annex I – part VII – paragraph 2 – indent 1
Annex I – part VII – paragraph 2 – indent 1
- set up an asymmetric ex-ante mechanism to prevent (instead of merely remedy) unfair market behaviour by “"systemic platforms”" in the digital world, building on the Platform to Business Regulation; such mechanism should allow regulatory authorities to impose remedies on these companies with a significant market position in order to address market failures, without the establishment of a breach of regulatory rules;
Amendment 862 #
Motion for a resolution
Annex I – part VII – paragraph 2 – indent 2
Annex I – part VII – paragraph 2 – indent 2
- empower regulatory authorities to issue orders prohibiting undertakings, which have been identified as “"systemic platforms”", from the following practices, inter alia: discrimination in intermediary services; making the use of data for making market entry by third parties more difficult; data envelopment used to expand dominant position in adjacent markets, incurring in self-preferencing of their own products and services and engaging in practices aimed at locking- in consumers; undertakings should be given the possibility to demonstrate that the behaviour in question is justified, yet they should bear the burden of proof for this;
Amendment 866 #
Motion for a resolution
Annex I – part VII – paragraph 2 – indent 2 a (new)
Annex I – part VII – paragraph 2 – indent 2 a (new)
- explore other ex-ante remedies that prevent the creation of new systemic platforms. In addition to reactive ex-ante mechanism, the Digital Services Act should envisage preventive mechanisms that prevent the creation of digital gatekeepers;
Amendment 873 #
Motion for a resolution
Annex I – part VII – paragraph 2 – indent 3
Annex I – part VII – paragraph 2 – indent 3
- clarify that some regulatory remedimeasures should be impoaddressed ton all ”"systemic platforms”" without the need for a decision by a regulatory authority, such as prohibition for “"systemic platforms”" to engage in self- preferencing or in any practices aimed at making it more difficult for consumers to switch suppliers, or other forms of discrimination that exclude or disadvantage other businesses;
Amendment 875 #
Motion for a resolution
Annex I – part VII – paragraph 2 – indent 4
Annex I – part VII – paragraph 2 – indent 4
- empower regulatory authorities to adopt interim measures and to impose finpenalties on “"systemic platforms”" that fail to respect the different regulatory obligations imposed on them;
Amendment 878 #
Motion for a resolution
Annex I – part VII – paragraph 2 – indent 5 a (new)
Annex I – part VII – paragraph 2 – indent 5 a (new)
- ensure that users of "systemic platforms" will be able to effectively control results of algorithms suggesting them specific content; users should be properly informed of all the reasons why specific content is suggested to them;
Amendment 883 #
Motion for a resolution
Annex I – part VII – paragraph 2 – indent 6
Annex I – part VII – paragraph 2 – indent 6
- imposensure high levels of interoperability measures requiring “"systemic platforms”" to share appropriate tools, non-rivalrous data, data, expertise, and resources deployed in order to limit the risks of users and consumers’ lock-in and the artificially binding users to one systemic platform with no possibility or incentives for switching between digital platforms or internet ecosystems and to empower users in deciding what kind of content they want to see. As part of those measures, the Commission should explore different technologies and open standards and protocols, including the possibility of a mechanical interface (Application Programming Interface) that allows users of competing platforms to dock on to the systemic platform and exchange information with it.
Amendment 892 #
Motion for a resolution
Annex I – part VIII – paragraph 1 a (new)
Annex I – part VIII – paragraph 1 a (new)
However, additional efforts with clear actions are necessary in order to address remaining obstacles in the digital single market and protectionist practices, such as: settling the costs of cross-border disputes, suppliers’ restrictions to selling cross-border, delivery-related matters, taxation rules, limited cross-border access to goods and services due to differences in intellectual property rights law, access to information on the relevant regulatory requirements, complex administrative procedures.