BETA

22 Amendments of François-Xavier BELLAMY related to 2020/0361(COD)

Amendment 97 #
Proposal for a regulation
Recital 18
(18) The exemptions from liability established in this Regulation should not apply where, instead of confining itself to providing the services neutrally, by a merely technical and automatic and passive processing of the information provided by the recipient of the service, the provider of intermediary services plays an active role of such a kind as to give it knowledge of, or control over, that information. Those exemptions should accordingly not be available in respect of liability relating to information provided not by the recipient of the service but by the provider of intermediary service itself, including where the information has been developed under the editorial responsibility of that provider. When provider of intermediary service promotes, references the content, the exemption from liability established in this Regulation should not apply to it.
2021/06/23
Committee: ITRE
Amendment 101 #
Proposal for a regulation
Recital 20
(20) A provider of intermediary services that deliberately collaborates with a recipient of the services in order to undertakeengages in illegal activities does not provide its service neutrally and should therefore not be able to benefit from the exemptions from liability provided for in this Regulation.
2021/06/23
Committee: ITRE
Amendment 125 #
Proposal for a regulation
Recital 34
(34) In order to achieve the objectives of this Regulation, and in particular to improve the functioning of the internal market and ensure a safe and transparent online environment, it is necessary to establish a clear, effective and balanced set of harmonised due diligence obligations for providers of intermediary services. Those obligations should aim in particular to guarantee different public policy objectives such as the safety and trust of the recipients of the service, including minors and vulnerable users, protect the relevant fundamental rights enshrined in the Charter, to ensure meaningful accountability of those providers and to empower recipients and other affected parties, whilst facilitating the necessary oversight by competent authorities.
2021/06/23
Committee: ITRE
Amendment 136 #
Proposal for a regulation
Recital 42
(42) Where a hosting service provider decides to remove or disable information provided by a recipient of the service, for instance following receipt of a notice or acting on its own initiative, including through the use of automated means, that provider shall prevent future uploads of already notified illegal content resulting from a valid notice and action procedure and should inform the recipient of its decision, the reasons for its decision and the available redress possibilities to contest the decision, in view of the negative consequences that such decisions may have for the recipient, including as regards the exercise of its fundamental right to freedom of expression. That obligation should apply irrespective of the reasons for the decision, in particular whether the action has been taken because the information notified is considered to be illegal content or incompatible with the applicable terms and conditions. Available recourses to challenge the decision of the hosting service provider should always include judicial redress.
2021/06/23
Committee: ITRE
Amendment 147 #
Proposal for a regulation
Recital 46
(46) Action against illegal content can be taken more quickly and reliably where online platforms take the necessary measures to ensure that notices submitted by trusted flaggers through the notice and action mechanisms required by this Regulation are treated with priority, without prejudice to the requirement to process and decide upon all notices submitted under those mechanisms in a timely, diligent, effective and objective manner. Such trusted flagger status should only be awarded to entities, and not individuals, that have demonstrated, among other things, that they have particular expertise and competence in tackling illegal content, that they have significant legitimate interest and a proven record in flagging illegal content with a high rate of accuracy and that they have demonstrated their competence in detecting,identifying and notifying illegal content or represent collective interests and that they work in a diligent and objective manner. Such entities can also be public in nature, such as, for terrorist content, internet referral units of national law enforcement authorities or of the European Union Agency for Law Enforcement Cooperation (‘Europol’) or they can be non- governmental organisations and semi- public bodies, such as the organisations part of the INHOPE network of hotlines for reporting child sexual abuse material and organisations committed to notifying illegal racist and xenophobic expressions online. For intellectual property rights, organisations of industry andindividual right-holders, their representatives, duly mandated third parties organisations of industry and other independent entities that have a specific expertise and act in the best interests of right- holders could be awarded trusted flagger status, where they have demonstrated that they meet the applicable conditions. The rules of this Regulation on trusted flaggers should not be understood to prevent online platforms from giving similar treatment to notices submitted by entities or individuals that have not been awarded trusted flagger status under this Regulation, from otherwise cooperating with other entities, in accordance with the applicable law, including this Regulation and Regulation (EU) 2016/794 of the European Parliament and of the Council.43 _________________ 43Regulation (EU) 2016/794 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 11 May 2016 on the European Union Agency for Law Enforcement Cooperation (Europol) and replacing and repealing Council Decisions 2009/371/JHA, 2009/934/JHA, 2009/935/JHA, 2009/936/JHA and 2009/968/JHA, OJ L 135, 24.5.2016, p. 53
2021/06/23
Committee: ITRE
Amendment 155 #
Proposal for a regulation
Recital 47
(47) The misuse of services of online platforms by frequently providing manifestlyor disseminating illegal content or by frequently submitting manifestly unfounded notices or complaints under the mechanisms and systems, respectively, established under this Regulation undermines trust and harms the rights and legitimate interests of the parties concerned. Therefore, there is a need to put in place appropriate and proportionate safeguards against such misuse. Information should be considered to be manifestly illegal content and notices or complaints should be considered manifestly unfounded where it is evident to a layperson, without any substantive analysis, that the content is illegal respectively that the notices or complaints are unfounded. Under certain conditions, online platforms should temporarily suspend their relevant activities in respect of the person engaged in abusive behaviour. This is without prejudice to the freedom by online platforms to determine their terms and conditions and establish stricter measures in the case of manifestly illegal content related to serious crimes. For reasons of transparency, this possibility should be set out, clearly and in sufficiently detail, in the terms and conditions of the online platforms. Redress should always be open to the decisions taken in this regard by online platforms and they should be subject to oversight by the competent Digital Services Coordinator. The rules of this Regulation on misuse should not prevent online platforms from taking other measures to address the provision of illegal content by recipients of their service or other misuse of their services, in accordance with the applicable Union and national law. Those rules are without prejudice to any possibility to hold the persons engaged in misuse liable, including for damages, provided for in Union or national law.
2021/06/23
Committee: ITRE
Amendment 156 #
Proposal for a regulation
Recital 49
(49) In order to contribute to a safe, trustworthy and transparent online environment for consumers and other users, as well as for other interested parties such as competing traders and holders of intellectual property rights, and to deter traders from sellinghe selling and dissemination of products orand services in violation of the applicable rules, online platforms allowing consum all providers of intermediary services, including hosting providers, domain name registrars, providers tof conclude distance contracts with tratent delivery networks, proxy and reverse proxy providers, online marketplaces, online payment service providers and online advertising service providers should ensure that such tradtheir business customers are traceable. The tradbusiness customer should therefore be required to provide certain essential information to the online platform or provider of intermediary services, including for purposes of promoting messages on or offering products. That requirement should also be applicable to tradbusiness customers that promote messages on products or services on behalf of brands, based on underlying agreements. Those online platformProviders of intermediary services should store all information in a secure manner for a reasonable period of time that does not exceed what is necessary, so that it can be accessed and verified, in accordance with the applicable law, including on the protection of personal data, by the providers of intermediary services,public authorities and private parties with a legitimate interest, including through the orders to provide information referred to in this Regulation.
2021/06/23
Committee: ITRE
Amendment 159 #
Proposal for a regulation
Recital 50
(50) To ensure an efficient and adequate application of that obligation, without imposing any disproportionate burdens, the online platforms covproviders of intermediary services should make reasonable efforts to verify the reliability of the information provided by the traders concernedir business customers, in particular by using freely available official online databases and online interfaces, such as national trade registers and the VAT Information Exchange System45 , or by requesting the traders concernedir business customers to provide trustworthy supporting documents, such as copies of identity documents, certified bank statements, company certificates and trade register certificates. They may also use other sources, available for use at a distance, which offer a similar degree of reliability for the purpose of complying with this obligation. However, the online platforms covproviders of intermediary services should not be required to engage in excessive or costly online fact-finding exercises or to carry out verifications on the spot. Nor should such online platformproviders of intermediary services, which have made the reasonable efforts required by this Regulation, be understood as guaranteeing the reliability and accuracy of the information towards consumer or other interested parties. Such online platforms sproviders of intermediary services should update the information they hould on a risk-sensitive basis, and at least once a year and also design and organise their online interface in a way that enables tradheir business customers to comply with their obligations under Union law, in particular the requirements set out in Articles 6 and 8 of Directive 2011/83/EU of the European Parliament and of the Council46 , Article 7 of Directive 2005/29/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council47 and Article 3 of Directive 98/6/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council48 . _________________ 45 https://ec.europa.eu/taxation_customs/vies/ vieshome.do?selectedLanguage=en 46Directive 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 47Directive 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 (‘Unfair Commercial Practices Directive’) 48Directive 98/6/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 16 February 1998 on consumer protection in the indication of the prices of products offered to consumers
2021/06/23
Committee: ITRE
Amendment 197 #
Proposal for a regulation
Recital 81
(81) In order to ensure effective enforcement of this Regulation, individuals or representative organisations as well as parties having a legitimate interest and meeting relevant criteria of expertise and independence from any online hosting services provider or platform should be able to lodge any complaint related to compliance with this Regulation with the Digital Services Coordinator in the territory where they received the service, without prejudice to this Regulation’s rules on jurisdiction. Complaints should provide a faithful overview of concerns related to a particular intermediary service provider’s compliance and could also inform the Digital Services Coordinator of any more cross-cutting issues. The Digital Services Coordinator should involve other national competent authorities as well as the Digital Services Coordinator of another Member State, and in particular the one of the Member State where the provider of intermediary services concerned is established, if the issue requires cross- border cooperation.
2021/06/23
Committee: ITRE
Amendment 199 #
Proposal for a regulation
Recital 46
(46) Action against illegal content can be taken more quickly and reliably where online platforms take the necessary measures to ensure that notices submitted by trusted flaggers through the notice and action mechanisms required by this Regulation are treated with priority, without prejudice to the requirement to process and decide upon all notices submitted under those mechanisms in a timely, diligent, effective and objective manner. Such trusted flagger status should only be awarded to entities, and not individuals, that have demonstrated, among other things, that they have particular expertise and competence in tackling illegal content, that they have significant legitimate interest and a proven record in flagging illegal content with a high rate of accuracy and that they have demonstrated their competence in detecting, identifying and notifying illegal content or represent collective interests and that they work in a diligent and objective manner. Such entities can also be public in nature, such as, for terrorist content, internet referral units of national law enforcement authorities or of the European Union Agency for Law Enforcement Cooperation (‘Europol’) or they can be non- governmental organisations and semi- public bodies, such as the organisations part of the INHOPE network of hotlines for reporting child sexual abuse material and organisations committed to notifying illegal racist and xenophobic expressions online. For intellectual property rights, organisations of industry andindividual right-holders, their representatives, duly mandated third parties organisations of industry and other independent entities that have a specific expertise and act in the best interests of right- holders could be awarded trusted flagger status, where they have demonstrated that they meet the applicable conditions. The rules of this Regulation on trusted flaggers should not be understood to prevent online platforms from giving similar treatment to notices submitted by entities or individuals that have not been awarded trusted flagger status under this Regulation, from otherwise cooperating with other entities, in accordance with the applicable law, including this Regulation and Regulation (EU) 2016/794 of the European Parliament and of the Council.43 _________________ 43Regulation (EU) 2016/794 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 11 May 2016 on the European Union Agency for Law Enforcement Cooperation (Europol) and replacing and repealing Council Decisions 2009/371/JHA, 2009/934/JHA, 2009/935/JHA, 2009/936/JHA and 2009/968/JHA, OJ L 135, 24.5.2016, p. 53
2021/07/23
Committee: CULT
Amendment 224 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 2 – paragraph 1 – point e a (new)
(e a) ‘business customer’ means: - legal entities, except any entity which qualifies as a large undertaking as defined in Article3(4) of Directive 2013/34 of the European Parliament and the Council; - any natural person that purchases a type or amount of service indicative of, or otherwise indicates, the intent to operate a business online or contracts for the purchase of more than €10.000 of services provided by the intermediary service provider in a one-year period;
2021/06/23
Committee: ITRE
Amendment 252 #
Proposal for a regulation
Recital 81
(81) In order to ensure effective enforcement of this Regulation, individuals or representative organisations as well as parties having a legitimate interest and meeting relevant criteria of expertise and independence from any online hosting services provider or platform should be able to lodge any complaint related to compliance with this Regulation with the Digital Services Coordinator in the territory where they received the service, without prejudice to this Regulation’s rules on jurisdiction. Complaints should provide a faithful overview of concerns related to a particular intermediary service provider’s compliance and could also inform the Digital Services Coordinator of any more cross-cutting issues. The Digital Services Coordinator should involve other national competent authorities as well as the Digital Services Coordinator of another Member State, and in particular the one of the Member State where the provider of intermediary services concerned is established, if the issue requires cross- border cooperation.
2021/07/23
Committee: CULT
Amendment 260 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 5 – paragraph 3 a (new)
3 a. Paragraph 1 shall not apply when the provider of intermediary services engages in illegal activities.
2021/06/23
Committee: ITRE
Amendment 299 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 12 a (new)
Article 12 a Traceability of business customers 1. A provider of intermediary services shall ensure that business customers can only use its services to promote messages on or to offer products or services to consumers located in the Union if, prior to the use of its services, the provider of intermediary services has obtained the following information: (a) the name, address, telephone number and electronic mail address of the business customer; (b) a copy of the identification document of the business customer or any other electronic identification as defined by Article 3 of Regulation (EU) No 910/2014 of the European Parliament and of the Council; (c) the bank account details of the business customer, where the business customer is a natural person; (d) the name, address, telephone number and electronic mail address of the economic operator, within the meaning of Article 3(13) and Article 4 of Regulation (EU) 2019/1020of the European Parliament and the Council or any relevant act of Union law; (e) where the business customer is registered in a corporate or trade register or similar public register, the register in which the business customer is registered and its registration number or equivalent means of identification in that register; (f) a self-certification by the business customer committing to only offer products or services that comply with the applicable rules of Union law. 2. The provider of intermediary services shall, upon receiving that information, make reasonable efforts to assess whether the information referred to in points (a), (d) and (e) of paragraph 1 is reliable through the use of any publicly accessible official online database or online interface made available by a Member States or the Union or through requests to the business customer to provide supporting documents from reliable and independent sources. 3. The provider of intermediary services shall also verify that any person purporting to act on behalf of the business customer is so authorised and verify the identity of that person. 4. Where the provider of intermediary services obtains indications, including through a notification by law enforcement agencies or other individuals with a legitimate interest, that any item of information referred to in paragraph 1 obtained from the business customer concerned is inaccurate, misleading, incomplete, or otherwiseinvalid, that provider of an intermediary service shall request the business customer to correct the information in so far as necessary to ensure that all information is accurate and complete, without delay or within the time periodset by Union and national law. Where the business customer fails to correct or complete that information, the provider of intermediary services shall suspend the provision of its service to the business customer until the request iscomplied with. 5. The provider of intermediary services shall store the information obtained pursuant to paragraphs 1 and 2 in a secure manner for a period of five years following the termination of their contractual relationship with the business customer concerned. They shall subsequently delete the information. 6. Providers of intermediary services shall apply the identification and verification measures not only to new business customers but they shall also update the information they hold on existing business customers on a risk-sensitive basis, and at least once a year, or when the relevant circumstances of a business customer change. 7. Without prejudice to paragraph 2, the provider of intermediary services shall disclose the information to third parties where so required in accordance with the applicable law, including the orders referred to in Article 9 and any orders issued by Member States’ competent authorities or the Commission for the performance of their tasks under this Regulation, as well as pursuant to proceedings initiated under other relevant provisions of Union or national law. 8. The provider of intermediary services shall make the information referred to in points (a), (d), (e) and (f) of paragraph 1 available to the recipients of the service, in a clear, easily accessible and comprehensible manner. 9. The provider of intermediary services shall design and organise its online interface in a way that enables business customers to comply with their obligations regarding pre-contractual information and product safety information under applicable Union law. 10. The Digital Services Coordinator of establishment shall determine dissuasive financial penalties for non-compliance with any provision of this Article.
2021/06/24
Committee: ITRE
Amendment 338 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 14 – paragraph 6
6. Providers of hosting services shall process any notices that they receive under the mechanisms referred to in paragraph 1, and take their decisions in respect of the information to which the notices relate, in a timely, diligent and objective manner. Resulting from a valid notice and action procedure, providers of hosting services shall prevent future uploads of already notified illegal content putting in place effective, reasonable and proportionate measures. Where they use automated means for that processing or decision- making, they shall include information on such use in the notification referred to in paragraph 4.
2021/06/24
Committee: ITRE
Amendment 350 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 15 a (new)
Article 15 a Trusted flaggers 1. Providers of hosting services shall take the necessary technical and organisational measures to ensure that notices submitted by trusted flaggers through the mechanisms referred to in Article 14, are processed and decided upon with priority and without delay. 2. The status of trusted flaggers under this Regulation shall be awarded, upon application by any entities, by the Digital Services Coordinator of the Member State in which the applicant is established, where the applicant has demonstrated to meet all of the following conditions: (a) it has particular expertise and competence for the purposes of detecting, identifying and notifying illegal content; (b) it represents collective interests or it has a significant legitimate interest along with demonstrated expertise and a proven experience in flagging illegal content with high rate of accuracy while being independent from any online hosting services provider or platform; (c) it carries out not less than part of its activities for the purposes of submitting notices in a timely, diligent and objective manner. 3. Digital Services Coordinators shall communicate to the Commission and the Board the names, addresses and electronic mail addresses of the entities to which they have awarded the status of the trusted flagger in accordance with paragraph 2. 4. The Commission shall publish the information referred to in paragraph 3 in a publicly available database and keep the database updated. 5. Where a provider of hosting services has information indicating that a trusted flagger submitted a significant number of insufficiently precise or inadequately substantiated notices through the mechanisms referred to in Article 14, including information gathered in connection to the processing of complaints through the internal complaint-handling systems referred to in Article 17(3), it shall communicate that information to the Digital Services Coordinator that awarded the status of trusted flagger to the entity concerned, providing the necessary explanations and supporting documents. 6. The Digital Services Coordinator that awarded the status of trusted flagger to an entity shall revoke that status if it determines, following an investigation either on its own initiative or on the basis information received by third parties, including the information provided by a hosting services provider pursuant to paragraph 5, that the entity no longer meets the conditions set out in paragraph 2. Before revoking that status, the Digital Services Coordinator shall afford the entity an opportunity to react to the findings of its investigation and its intention to revoke the entity’s status as trusted flagger. 7. The Commission, after consulting the Board, may issue guidance to assist online platforms and Digital Services Coordinators in the application of paragraphs 5 and 6.
2021/07/23
Committee: CULT
Amendment 361 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 15 a (new)
Article 15 a Trusted flaggers 1. Providers of hosting services shall take the necessary technical and organisational measures to ensure that notices submitted by trusted flaggers through the mechanisms referred to in Article 14, are processed and decided upon with priority and without delay. 2.The status of trusted flaggers under this Regulation shall be awarded, upon application by any entities, by the Digital Services Coordinator of the Member State in which the applicant is established, where the applicant has demonstrated to meet all of the following conditions: (a) it has particular expertise and competence for the purposes of detecting, identifying and notifying illegal content; (b) it represents collective interests or it has a significant legitimate interest along with demonstrated expertise and a proven experience in flagging illegal content with high rate of accuracy while being independent from any online hosting services provider or platform; (c) it carries out not less than part of its activities for the purposes of submitting notices in a timely, diligent and objective manner. 3. Digital Services Coordinators shall communicate to the Commission and the Board the names, addresses and electronic mail addresses of the entities to which they have awarded the status of the trusted flagger in accordance with paragraph 2. 4. The Commission shall publish the information referred to in paragraph 3 in a publicly available database and keep the database updated. 5. Where a provider of hosting services has information indicating that a trusted flagger submitted a significant number of insufficiently precise or inadequately substantiated notices through the mechanisms referred to in Article 14, including information gathered in connection to the processing of complaints through the internal complaint-handling systems referred to in Article 17(3), it shall communicate that information to the Digital Services Coordinator that awarded the status of trusted flagger to the entity concerned, providing the necessary explanations and supporting documents. 6. The Digital Services Coordinator that awarded the status of trusted flagger to an entity shall revoke that status if it determines, following an investigation either on its own initiative or on the basis information received by third parties, including the information provided by a hosting services provider pursuant to paragraph 5, that the entity no longer meets the conditions set out in paragraph 2. Before revoking that status, the Digital Services Coordinator shall afford the entity an opportunity to react to the findings of its investigation and its intention to revoke the entity’s status as trusted flagger 7. The Commission, after consulting the Board, may issue guidance to assist online platforms and Digital Services Coordinators in the application of paragraphs 5 and 6.
2021/06/24
Committee: ITRE
Amendment 375 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 19
[...]deleted
2021/07/23
Committee: CULT
Amendment 399 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 19
[...]deleted
2021/06/24
Committee: ITRE
Amendment 438 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 22
[...]deleted
2021/06/24
Committee: ITRE
Amendment 478 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 43 – paragraph 1
Recipients of the service, as well as other parties having a legitimate interest and meeting relevant criteria of expertise and independence from any online hosting services provider or platform shall have the right to lodge a complaint against providers of intermediary services alleging an infringement of this Regulation with the Digital Services Coordinator of the Member State where the recipient resides or is established. The Digital Services Coordinator shall assess the complaint and, where appropriate, transmit it to the Digital Services Coordinator of establishment. Where the complaint falls under the responsibility of another competent authority in its Member State, the Digital Service Coordinator receiving the complaint shall transmit it to that authority.
2021/07/23
Committee: CULT
Amendment 687 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 43 – paragraph 1
Recipients of the service, as well as other parties having a legitimate interest and meeting relevant criteria of expertise and independence from any online hosting services provider or platform shall have the right to lodge a complaint against providers of intermediary services alleging an infringement of this Regulation with the Digital Services Coordinator of the Member State where the recipient resides or is established. The Digital Services Coordinator shall assess the complaint and, where appropriate, transmit it to the Digital Services Coordinator of establishment. Where the complaint falls under the responsibility of another competent authority in its Member State, the Digital Service Coordinator receiving the complaint shall transmit it to that authority.
2021/06/24
Committee: ITRE