Activities of Francis ZAMMIT DIMECH related to 2018/0112(COD)
Plenary speeches (1)
Promoting fairness and transparency for business users of online intermediation services (debate) MT
Amendments (22)
Amendment 55 #
Proposal for a regulation
Recital 8
Recital 8
(8) A wide variety of business-to- consumer commercial relations are intermediated online by providers operating multi-sided services that are essentially based on the same ecosystem- building business model. In order to capture the relevant services, online intermediation services should be defined in a precise and technologically-neutral manner. In particular, the services should consist of information society services, which are characterised by the fact that they aim to facilitate the initiating of direct transactions between business users and consumers, irrespective of whether the transactions are ultimately concluded either online, on the online portal of the provider of the online intermediation services in question or that of the business user, or offline. In addition, the services should be provided on the basis of contractual relationships both between the providers and business users and between the providers and the consumers. Such a contractual relationship should be deemed to exist where both parties concerned express their intention to be bound in an unequivocal and verifiable manner, without an express written agreement necessarily being required. The purpose of this Regulation is to establish provisions relating to those information society services which, in addition to the above requirements, perform a function of "intermediation" in an online marketplace. The mere presence of advertising on a webpage should not itself mean that the webpage falls under the scope of this Regulation.
Amendment 68 #
Proposal for a regulation
Recital 12
Recital 12
(12) In order to effectively protect business users where needed, this Regulation should apply where the terms and conditions of a contractual relationship, regardless of whetheir name or form, are not individually negotiated by the parties to them. Whether or not terms and conthe provider of an online intermediations were individually negotiated should be determined on the basis of an overall assessment, whereby the fact that certain provisions thereof may have been individually negotiated is, in itself, not decisive service and a business user are parties to an agreement that they individually negotiated.
Amendment 101 #
Proposal for a regulation
Recital 21 a (new)
Recital 21 a (new)
(21a) Business users should be granted full control over their own intellectual property rights. Providers of online intermediated services should make use of these rights only upon explicit consent of the business user. The terms of use of such rights should be adhered to. The intellectual property rights of third parties should also be respected.
Amendment 144 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 3 – paragraph 1 – point a
Article 3 – paragraph 1 – point a
(a) are fair and proportionate and drafted in clear and unambiguous language;
Amendment 149 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 3 – paragraph 1 – point c
Article 3 – paragraph 1 – point c
(c) set out the objective grounds consistent with those terms and conditions for decisions to sanction, suspend or terminate, in whole or in part, the provision of their online intermediation services to business users.
Amendment 152 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 3 – paragraph 1 – point c a (new)
Article 3 – paragraph 1 – point c a (new)
(ca) inform business users on their additional distribution channels and potential affiliate programmes that they are going to serve with the offer of business users. Business users shall be granted the right to ask for their removal from such additional distribution channels.
Amendment 172 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 4 – paragraph 1
Article 4 – paragraph 1
1. Where a provider of online intermediation services decides to sanction perceived misconduct, or suspend or terminate, in whole or in part, the provision of its online intermediation services to a given business user, it shall provide the business user concerned, without undue delay, with a statement of reasons for that decision. Such decision shall be proportionate.
Amendment 234 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 7 – paragraph 2 a (new)
Article 7 – paragraph 2 a (new)
2a. Providers of online intermediation services shall grant each business user access to anonymised consumer data, in a machine readable commonly used and standardised format, which are generated through the facilitation of a transaction between consumers and the business user concerned. This obligation is without prejudice to the obligations with which online intermediation services must comply under the applicable data protection and privacy rules.
Amendment 235 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 7 – paragraph 2 b (new)
Article 7 – paragraph 2 b (new)
2b. Without prejudice to relevant Union law applicable to the protection of personal data and privacy, providers of online intermediation services shall grant business users access to all the data they have acquired as a result of the commercial activity of the respective business user.
Amendment 236 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 7 – paragraph 2 c (new)
Article 7 – paragraph 2 c (new)
2c. Without prejudice to relevant Union law applicable to the protection of personal data and privacy, providers of online search engines shall grant corporate website users access to all the data they have acquired as a result of the activity of the respective corporate website user.
Amendment 237 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 7 – paragraph 2 d (new)
Article 7 – paragraph 2 d (new)
2d. The data referred to in paragraphs 2b and 2c shall be provided in a machine readable commonly used and standardised format.
Amendment 285 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 12 – paragraph 1
Article 12 – paragraph 1
1. Organisations and associations that have a legitimate interest in representing business users or in representing corporate website users, as well as public bodies set up in Member States, shall have the right to take action before national courts in the Union, in accordance with the rules of the law of the Member State where the action is brought, to stop or prohibit any non- compliance by providers of online intermediation services or by providers of online search engines with the relevant requirements laid down in this Regulation.
Amendment 286 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 12 – paragraph 1 a (new)
Article 12 – paragraph 1 a (new)
1a. Before taking action referred to in Article 1, the representative organisation or association shall exercise the complaint-handling and mediation procedure referred to in Article 9 and 10. The representative action shall be pursed where the non-compliance could not be resolved via measures in Article 9 and 10.
Amendment 290 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 12 – paragraph 2 – subparagraph 1 – introductory part
Article 12 – paragraph 2 – subparagraph 1 – introductory part
Organisations or associations shall have the right referred to in paragraph 1 only where, at the time of bringing the action, they and for the duration of the action, they continue to meet all of the following requirements:
Amendment 299 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 12 – paragraph 2 – subparagraph 1 – point b
Article 12 – paragraph 2 – subparagraph 1 – point b
(b) they pursue objectives, publically stated in their statute or other relevant governance document, that are in the collective interest of the group of business users or corporate website users that they represent;
Amendment 304 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 12 – paragraph 2 – subparagraph 1 – point c a (new)
Article 12 – paragraph 2 – subparagraph 1 – point c a (new)
(ca) they have a governance structure that provides for independence from third parties and has internal procedure to prevent conflict of interest, in case of funding received from third parties;
Amendment 307 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 12 – paragraph 2 – subparagraph 1 – point c b (new)
Article 12 – paragraph 2 – subparagraph 1 – point c b (new)
(cb) they are transparent about the source of funding;
Amendment 308 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 12 – paragraph 2 – subparagraph 1 – point c c (new)
Article 12 – paragraph 2 – subparagraph 1 – point c c (new)
(cc) they have sufficient financial and human resources, as well as legal expertise to represent the best interests of their business or corporate website users;
Amendment 311 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 12 – paragraph 2 – subparagraph 2 a (new)
Article 12 – paragraph 2 – subparagraph 2 a (new)
Member States shall ensure that representative organisations or associations make publicly available annual activity reports. Those reports shall include at least the following information relating to both domestic and cross-border representative actions: (a) the number of action launched and the main types of complaints made; (b) the number (the rate of percentage) of court decisions in favour of business users or corporate website users; (c) the number (the rate or percentage) of representative actions which were discontinued and, if known, the reasons for their discontinuation; (d) the average time taken to resolve a representative action;
Amendment 313 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 12 – paragraph 2 – subparagraph 2 b (new)
Article 12 – paragraph 2 – subparagraph 2 b (new)
Member States shall assess on a regular basis whether an organisation or an association continues to comply with the criteria set out in this paragraph. Member States shall ensure that the qualified entity loses its status under this Regulation if it no longer complies with one or more of the criteria listed in this paragraph.
Amendment 314 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 12 – paragraph 2 – subparagraph 2 c (new)
Article 12 – paragraph 2 – subparagraph 2 c (new)
The compliance by an organisation or an association with the criteria referred to in this paragraph is without prejudice to the right of the court or administrative authority to examine whether the purpose of the organisation or the association justifies its taking action in a specific case in accordance with paragraph 1.
Amendment 322 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 13 a (new)
Article 13 a (new)
Article 13a Applicable law and jurisdiction In contracts concluded by business users having their habitual residence in a Member State, or where the fulfilment of the contract is to take place in one or more Member States, the following shall apply: (a) the protection afforded to business users in this regulation shall apply regardless of the law applicable to other aspects of the contract by way of choice of the parties or otherwise; and (b) unless the contract includes the rules of this Regulation, a choice of competent court shall only be valid if it designates a court in: (i) the Member State where the business user has its habitual residence; or (ii) a Member State where the fulfilment of the contract is to take place.