Activities of Maria-Manuel LEITÃO-MARQUES related to 2020/2019(INL)
Shadow opinions (1)
OPINION with recommendations to the Commission on Digital Services Act: adapting commercial and civil law rules for commercial entities operating online
Amendments (10)
Amendment 14 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 1
Paragraph 1
1. Welcomes the “CPC Common Position COVID-19”3 issued by the Commission and the Consumer Protection Cooperation (CPC) authorities of the Member States on the most recent reported scams and unfair practices in relation to the COVID-19 outbreak; calls on all platforms to cooperate with the Commission and the competent authorities to better identify illegal practices, take down scams and asks the Commission to constantly review the common guidelines for the placement and/or sale of items and services of a false, misleading or otherwise abusive content for consumers; believes such guidelines should not only seek to apply Union and national consumer law, but to proactively seek to put in place the means to react to the crisis in the market rapidly; __________________ 3 European Commission / Consumer Protection Cooperation (CPC) Network, Common Position of CPC Authorities, “Stopping scams and tackling unfair business practices on online platforms in the context of the Coronavirus outbreak in the EU”.
Amendment 24 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 2
Paragraph 2
2. Welcomes efforts to bring transparency to advertising online and considers that furtherConsiders that additional guidance is needed as regards professional diligence and obligations for platforms when it comes to advertising online; outlines that new measures establishing a new framework for Platform-to-Consumers relations on transparency provisions regarding advertising, digital nudging and preferential treatment are needed; outlines that paid advertisements or paid placement in a ranking of search results should be identified in a clearity and guidance is needed as regards professional diligence and obligations for platform, concise and intelligent manner; suggests that platforms should disclose the origin of paid advertisements, especially those of political nature; points out that targeted advertising must be regulated more strictly in favour of less intrusive forms of advertising and that the Digital Services Act should set clear boundaries as regards the terms for accumulation of data for that purpose, in order to better protect the consumers; believes that where advertisers and intermediaries are established in a third country, they should designate a legal representative, established in the Union, who can be held accountable for the content of advertisements, in order to allow for consumer redress in the case of false or misleading advertisements;
Amendment 35 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 3
Paragraph 3
3. ABelieves that platforms should clearly mark all sponsored advertisements as such in a way made visible to all consumers; asks the Commission to clarify what sanctions or other restrictions those advertisement intermediaries and platforms should be subject to if they knowingly accept false or misleading advertisements; believes that online platforms should actively monitor the advertisements shown on their sites, in ordertake measures to ensure they do not profit from false or misleading advertisements shown on their websites, including from influencer marketing content which is not being disclosed as sponsored; underlines that transparency requirements should include the obligation to disclose who is paying for the advertising, including both direct and indirect payments or any other contribution received by service providers, and protect consumers from unsolicited communications online; underlines that advertisements for commercial products and services, and advertisements of a political or other nature are different in form and function and therefore should be subject to different guidelines and rules;
Amendment 44 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 3 a (new)
Paragraph 3 a (new)
3a. Stresses the need to strengthen the coherence between the existing obligations set out in the e-Commerce Directive and the Directive 2005/29/EC on Unfair Commercial Practices related to the transparency of commercial communications and digital advertising;
Amendment 46 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 3 b (new)
Paragraph 3 b (new)
3b. Underlines the importance of algorithmic transparency for consumer protection, namely by ensuring explainability and auditability of automated decision-making in the context of both advertisement and content moderation;
Amendment 48 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 3 c (new)
Paragraph 3 c (new)
Amendment 53 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 4
Paragraph 4
4. While recalling earlier efforts, asks the Commission to further review the practice of End User Licensing Agreements (EULAs) and to seek ways to allow greater and easier engagement for consumers, including in the choice of clauses in order to allow for a better informed consent; notes that EULAs are often accepted by users without reading them; moreover notes that when a EULA does allow for users to opt-out of clauses, platforms may require users to do so at each use; notes that the majority of EULAs can be unilaterally changed by the platforms without any notice to consumers, with pernicious effects in terms of consumer protection, and calls for a better consumer protection through effective measures;
Amendment 65 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 5
Paragraph 5
5. Underlines that EULAs should always make the sharing of all data with third parties optional unless vital to the functioning of the services; asks the Commission to ensure that consumers can still use a connected device for all its primary functions even if a consumer withdraws their consent to share non- operational data with the device manufacturer or third parties; reiterates the need for transparency in EULAs regarding the possibility and scope of data sharing with third parties;
Amendment 72 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 7
Paragraph 7
7. Notes the rise of “smart contracts” based on distributed ledger technologies; asks the Commission to analyse if certain aspects without a clear legal basis; asks the Commission to assess the development and use of distributed ledger technologies, including “smart contracts”, in particular questions of legality, and enforcement of “smart contracts” should be clarified and if guidance should be given in order in cross border situations, and make proposals for appropriate legal framework to ensure legal certainty for businesses and consumers; asks especially for the Commission to work to ensure that such contracts with consumers are valid and binding throughout the Union; that they meet the standards of consumer law, for exampleupdate its existing guidance document on Directive 2011/83/EU4 (the Consumer Rights Directive) to clarify whether it considers smart contracts to fall within the exemption of point (l) of Article 3(2), and if so under which circumstances, and to clarify the issue of the right tof withdrawal under Directive 2011/83/EU4 ; and that they are not subject to national barriers to application, such as; asks for guidance on cross- border transactions and on the existing rules regarding notarisation requirements; __________________ 4 Directive 2011/83/EU of the European Parliament and of the Council of 25 October 2011 on consumer rights, amending Council Directive 93/13/EEC and Directive 1999/44/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council and repealing Council Directive 85/577/EEC and Directive 97/7/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council (OJ L 304, 22.11.2011, p. 64).
Amendment 77 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 8
Paragraph 8
8. Stresses that any future legislative proposals should seek to remove current and prevent potentially new unjustified barriers in the supply of digital services and innovation by online platforms; underlines, at the same time, that new Union obligations on platforms must be proportional and clear in nature in order to avoid unnecessary regulatory burdens or unnecessary restrictions; underlines the need to prevent gold- plating practices of Union legislation by Member State while enhancing consumer protection, achieving sustainable and smart growth and address technological, connectivity challenges and ensuring that the digital single market is fair and safe for everyone; underlines, at the same time, that new Union obligations on platforms must be proportional and clear in nature in order to avoid unnecessary regulatory burdens or unnecessary restrictions, ensuring a level playing field for companies, including SMEs a high level of protection for consumers, and protecting the health, safety and wellbeing of our citizens; stresses the importance and benefits of an harmonized regulatory framework of digital services across the Union in the context of the Digital Single Market and the need to establish a central regulatory authority that is responsible for the oversight and compliance with the Digital Services Act and which has supplementary powers to tackle cross- border issues, as well as wield investigation and enforcement powers.