28 Amendments of Sabine VERHEYEN related to 2020/0374(COD)
Amendment 63 #
(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.
Amendment 64 #
Proposal for a regulation
Recital 14 b (new)
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.
Amendment 72 #
Proposal for a regulation
Recital 37
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 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 services, 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.
Amendment 73 #
Proposal for a regulation
Recital 38
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.
Amendment 74 #
Proposal for a regulation
Recital 39
Recital 39
(39) To safeguard a fair commercial environment and protect the contestability of the digital sector it is important to safeguard the right of business users to raise concerns about unfair behaviour by gatekeepers with any relevant administrative or other public authorities. For example, business users may want to complain about different types of unfair practices, such as discriminatory access conditions, unjustified closing of business user accounts or unclear grounds for product de-listings. Any practice that would in any way inhibit such a possibility of raising concerns or seeking available redress, for instance by means of confidentiality clauses in agreements or other written terms, should therefore be prohibited. This should be without prejudice to the right of business users and gatekeepers to lay down in their agreements the terms of use, drafted in plain and intelligible language, including the use of lawful complaints-handling mechanisms, including any use of alternative dispute resolution mechanisms orand including clear information ofn the jurisdiction of specific courts in compliance with respective Union and national law. This should therefore also be without prejudice to the role gatekeepers play in the fight against illegal content online.
Amendment 78 #
Proposal for a regulation
Recital 43
Recital 43
(43) A gGatekeeper 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.
Amendment 81 #
Proposal for a regulation
Recital 47
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.
Amendment 84 #
Proposal for a regulation
Recital 48
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 inwithin or along the results communicated by online search engines, or which are partly or entirely embedded in 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 should be regarded as 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 a non-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 potentially leading to a conflict of interest. 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.
Amendment 88 #
Proposal for a regulation
Recital 49
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 controlsoperates with. 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. The guidelines adopted pursuant to Article 5 of Regulation (EU) 2019/1150 should also facilitate the implementatioSuch 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 rand enforcement of this obligation.34 _________________ 34Commission Notice: Guidelines on ranking transparency pursuant to Regulation (EU) 2019/1150 of the European Parliaking 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 and of the Council (OJ C 424, 8.12.2020, p. 1)is obligation.
Amendment 97 #
(54) Gatekeepers benefit from access to vast amounts of data that they collect while providing the core platform services as well as other digital services. To ensure that gatekeepers do not undermine the contestability of core platform services as well as the innovation potential of the dynamic digital sector by restricting the ability of business users to effectively port their data, business users and end users should be granted effective, free of charge and immediate access to the data they provided or generated in the context of their use of the relevant core platform services of the gatekeeper, in a structured, commonly used and machine-readable format. This should apply also to any other data at different levels of aggregation that may be necessary to effectively enable such portability. It should also be ensured that business users and end users can port that data in real time effectively, such as for example through high quality application programming interfaces. Facilitating switching or multi- homing should lead, in turn, to an increased choice for business users and end users and an incentive for gatekeepers and business users to innovate.
Amendment 129 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 2 – paragraph 1 – point 14
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;
Amendment 135 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 2 – paragraph 1 – point 23 a (new)
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.
Amendment 140 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 3 – paragraph 2 – point b – paragraph 1
Article 3 – paragraph 2 – point b – paragraph 1
for the purpose of the first subparagraph, monthly active end users shall refer to the average number of monthly active end users throughout the largest partat least six, not necessarily consecutive, months of the last financial year;
Amendment 141 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 3 – paragraph 3 – introductory part
Article 3 – paragraph 3 – introductory part
3. Where a provider of core platform services meets all the thresholds in paragraph 2, it shall notify the Commission without undue delay and at the latest 30 days thereof within three months after those thresholds are satisfied and provide it with the relevant information identified in paragraph 2.. That notification shall include the relevant information identified in paragraph 2 for each of the core platform services of the provider that meets the thresholds in paragraph 2 point (b). The notification shall be updated whenever other core platform services individually meet the thresholds in paragraph 2 point (b).
Amendment 144 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 3 – paragraph 6 – subparagraph 1 – point f
Article 3 – paragraph 6 – subparagraph 1 – point f
(f) other structural systemic market characteristics.
Amendment 145 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 3 – paragraph 7
Article 3 – paragraph 7
7. For each gatekeeper identified pursuant to paragraph 4 or paragraph 6, the Commission shall within 3 months identify the relevant undertaking to which it belongs and list the relevant core platform services that are provided within that same undertaking and which individually serve as an important gateway for business users to reach end users as referred to in paragraph 1(b).
Amendment 148 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 5 – paragraph 1 – introductory part
Article 5 – paragraph 1 – introductory part
In respect of each of its core platform services identified pursuant to Article 3(7) and its ancillary services, a gatekeeper shall:
Amendment 152 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 5 – paragraph 1 – point b
Article 5 – paragraph 1 – point b
(b) allow business users and supplier to the gatekeeper’s ancillary service to offer the same products or services to end users through third party online intermediation services at prices or conditions that are different from those offered through the online intermediation services of the gatekeeper;
Amendment 154 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 5 – paragraph 1 – point c
Article 5 – paragraph 1 – point c
(c) allow business users to promote different offers to end users acquired via the core platform service, and to conclude contracts with these end users regardless of whether for that purpose they use the core platform services of the gatekeeper or not, and allow end users to access and use, through the core platform services of the gatekeeper, content, subscriptions, features or other items by using the software application of a business user, where these items have been acquired by the end users from the relevant business user without using the core platform services of the gatekeeper;
Amendment 155 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 5 – paragraph 1 – point d
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 relating to any practice of gatekeepers;
Amendment 164 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 6 – paragraph 1 – introductory part
Article 6 – paragraph 1 – introductory part
1. In respect of each of its core platform services identified pursuant to Article 3(7), ain accordance with Article 3(7) and its ancillary services including distribution, the gatekeeper shall:
Amendment 165 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 6 – paragraph 1 – point a
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, including by the end users of these business users, of its core platform services or provided by those business users or suppliers of its core platform services or by the end users of these business users;
Amendment 170 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 6 – paragraph 1 – point c
Article 6 – paragraph 1 – point c
(c) allow the installation and effective use of third party software applications or software application stores using, or interoperating with, operating systems of that gatekeeper and allow these software applications or software application stores 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 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.
Amendment 175 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 6 – paragraph 1 – point d
Article 6 – paragraph 1 – point d
(d) refrain from treating more favourably in ranking 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 ranking;
Amendment 180 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 6 – paragraph 1 – point f a (new)
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.
Amendment 182 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 6 – paragraph 1 – point h
Article 6 – paragraph 1 – point h
(h) provide effective portability of data generated through the activity of a business user or generated by goods and services provided by a supplier of ancillary services notably distribution or an end user and shall, in particular, provide tools for 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 ;
Amendment 186 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 6 – paragraph 1 – point i
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 and ancillary platform services by those business users and the end users engaging with the products orand services provided by those business users;, to user businesses and supplier of ancillary and notably distribution services, 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; ;
Amendment 192 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 6 – paragraph 2
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.