43 Amendments of Monika BEŇOVÁ related to 2020/0361(COD)
Amendment 188 #
Proposal for a regulation
Recital 3
Recital 3
(3) Responsible and diligent behaviour by providers of intermediary services is essential for a safe, predictable and trusted online environment and for allowing Union citizens and other persons to exercise their fundamental rights and freedoms guaranteed in the Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union (‘Charter’), in particular the freedom of expression and information and the freedom to conduct a business, a high level of consumer protection and the right to non- discrimination.
Amendment 245 #
Proposal for a regulation
Recital 14
Recital 14
(14) The concept of ‘dissemination to the public’, as used in this Regulation, should entail the making available of information to a potentially unlimited number of persons, that is, making the information easily accessible to users in general without further action by the recipient of the service providing the information being required, irrespective of whether those persons actually access the information in question. The mere possibility to create groups of users of a given service should not, in itself, be understood to mean that the information disseminated in that manner is not disseminated to the public. However, the concept should exclude dissemination of information within closed groups consisting of a finite number of pre- determined persons. Interpersonal communication services, as defined in Directive (EU) 2018/1972 of the European Parliament and of the Council,39 such as emails or private messaging services, fall outside the scope of this Regulation. Information should be considered disseminated to the public within the meaning of this Regulation only where that occurs upon the direct request by the recipient of the service that provided the information. Consequently, providers of services, such as cloud infrastructure, which are provided at the request of parties other than the content providers and only indirectly benefit the latter, should not be covered by this Regulation. This Regulation should cover, for example, providers of social media, video, image and audio-sharing services, as well as file-sharing services and other cloud services, insofar as those services are used to make the stored information available to the public at the direct request of the content provider. Where a service provider offers services other than hosting, this Regulation should apply only to the services that fall within its scope. __________________ 39Directive (EU) 2018/1972 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 11 December 2018 establishing the European Electronic Communications Code (Recast), OJ L 321, 17.12.2018, p. 36
Amendment 250 #
Proposal for a regulation
Recital 14
Recital 14
(14) The concept of ‘dissemination to the public’, as used in this Regulation, should entail the making available of information to a potentially unlimited number of persons, that is, making the information easily accessible to users in general without further action by the recipient of the service providing the information being required, irrespective of whether those persons actually access the information in question. The mere possibility to create groups of users of a given service should not, in itself, be understood to mean that the information disseminated in that manner is not disseminated to the public. However, the concept should exclude dissemination of information within closed groups consisting of a finite number of pre- determined persons. Interpersonal communication services, as defined in Directive (EU) 2018/1972 of the European Parliament and of the Council,39 such as emails or private messaging services, fall outside the scope of this Regulation. Information should be considered disseminated to the public within the meaning of this Regulation only where that occurs upon the direct request by the recipient of the service that provided the information. Consequently, providers of services, such as cloud infrastructure, which are provided at the request of parties other than the content providers and only indirectly benefit the latter, should not be covered by the definition of online platforms. __________________ 39Directive (EU) 2018/1972 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 11 December 2018 establishing the European Electronic Communications Code (Recast), OJ L 321, 17.12.2018, p. 36
Amendment 271 #
Proposal for a regulation
Recital 21
Recital 21
(21) A provider should be able to benefit from the exemptions from liability for ‘mere conduit’ and for ‘caching’ services when it is in no way involved with the information transmitted. This requires, among other things, that the provider does not select, rank or modify the information that it transmits. However, this requirement should not be understood to cover manipulations of a technical nature which take place in the course of the transmission, as such manipulations do not alter the integrity of the information transmitted.
Amendment 272 #
Proposal for a regulation
Recital 22
Recital 22
(22) In order to benefit from the exemption from liability for hosting services, the provider should, upon obtaining actual knowledge or awareness of illegal content, act expeditiously to remove or to disable access to that content taking into account the potential harm the illegal content in question may create. In order to ensure a harmonised implementation of illegal content removal throughout the Union, the provider should, within 24 hours, remove or disable access to illegal content that can seriously harm public policy, public security or public health or seriously harm consumers’ health or safety. According to the well-established case-law of the Court of Justice and in line with Directive 2000/31/EC, the concept of ‘public policy’ involves a genuine, present and sufficiently serious threat which affects one of the fundamental interest of society, in particular for the prevention, investigation, detection and prosecution of criminal offences, including the protection of minors and the fight against any incitement to hatred on grounds of race, sex, religion or nationality, and violations of human dignity concerning individual persons. The concept of ‘public security’ as interpreted by the Court of Justice covers both the internal security of a Member State, which may be affected by, inter alia, a direct threat and physical security of the population of the Member State concerned, and the external security, which may be affected by, inter alia, the risk of a serous disturbance to the foreign relations of that Member State of to the peaceful coexistence of nations. Where the illegal content does not seriously harm public policy, public security, public health or consumers’ health or safety, the provider should remove or disable access to illegal content within seven days. The deadlines referred to in this Regulation should be without prejudice to specific deadlines set out Union law or within administrative or judicial orders. The provider may derogate from the deadlines referred to in this Regulation on the grounds of force majeure or for justifiable technical or operational reasons but it should be required to inform the competent authorities as provided for in this Regulation. The removal or disabling of access should be undertaken in the observance of the principle ofthe Charter of Fundamental Rights, including a high level of consumer protection and freedom of expression. The provider can obtain such actual knowledge or awareness through, in particular, its own-initiative investigations or notices submitted to it by individuals or entities in accordance with this Regulation in so far as those notices are sufficiently precise and adequately substantiated to allow a diligent economic operator to reasonably identify, assess and where appropriate act against the allegedly illegal content.
Amendment 302 #
Proposal for a regulation
Recital 25
Recital 25
(25) In order to create legal certainty and not to discourage activities aimed at detecting, identifying and acting against illegal content that providers of intermediary services may undertake on a voluntary basis, it should be clarified that the mere fact that providers undertake such activities does not lead to the unavailability of the exemptions from liability set out in this Regulation, provided those activities are carried out in good faith and in a diligent mannerwith the appropriate safeguards against over-removal of legal content. In addition, it is appropriate to clarify that the mere fact that those providers take measures, in good faith, to comply with the requirements of Union law, including those set out in this Regulation as regards the implementation of their terms and conditions, should not lead to the unavailability of those exemptions from liability. Therefore, any such activities and measures that a given provider may have taken should not be taken into account when determining whether the provider can rely on an exemption from liability, in particular as regards whether the provider provides its service neutrally and can therefore fall within the scope of the relevant provision, without this rule however implying that the provider can necessarily rely thereon.
Amendment 343 #
Proposal for a regulation
Recital 34
Recital 34
(34) In order to achieve the objectives of this Regulation, and in particular to improve the functioning of the internal market, and to ensure a safe and transparent online environment and a high level of consumer protection, it is necessary to establish a clear 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, security 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.
Amendment 360 #
Proposal for a regulation
Recital 37
Recital 37
(37) Providers of intermediary services that are established in a third country that offer services in the Union should designate a sufficiently mandated legal representative in the Union and provide information relating to their legal representatives, so as to allow for the effective oversight and, where necessary, enforcement of this Regulation in relation to those providers. It should be possible for the legal representative to also function as point of contact, provided the relevant requirements of this Regulation are complied with. In addition, recipients of intermediary services should be able to hold the legal representative liable for non-compliance.
Amendment 415 #
Proposal for a regulation
Recital 46
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 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 represent collective interests and that they work in a diligent and objective manner. Such entities can 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, consumer 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 and 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
Amendment 447 #
Proposal for a regulation
Recital 50 a (new)
Recital 50 a (new)
(50a) After having obtained the necessary contact information of a trader, which are aimed at ensuring consumer rights, a provider of intermediary services needs to verify that these details are consistently being updated and accessible for consumers. Therefore, it shall conduct regular and randomized checks on the information provided by the traders on its platform. To ensure a consistent display of these contact information, intermediary services should establish mandatory designs for the inclusion of these contact information. A content, good or service shall only be displayed after all necessary information are made available by the business user.
Amendment 461 #
Proposal for a regulation
Recital 52 a (new)
Recital 52 a (new)
(52a) The market position of very large online platforms allows them to collect and combine enormous amounts of personal data, thereby strengthening their market position vis-a-vis smaller competitors, while at the same time incentivising other online platforms to take part in comparable data collection practices and thus creating an unfavourable environment for consumers. Therefore, the collecting and further processing of personal data for the purpose of displaying tailored advertisement should be prohibited. The selection of advertisements shown to a consumer should consequently be based on contextual information, such as language settings by the device of the user or the digital location. Besides a positive effect on privacy and data protection rights of users, the ban will increase competition on the market and will facilitate market access for smaller online platforms and privacy-friendly business models.
Amendment 465 #
Proposal for a regulation
Recital 52 b (new)
Recital 52 b (new)
(52b) The ban on targeted advertising should not hinder contextual advertisement, such as the displaying of a car advertisement on a website presenting information from the automotive sector.
Amendment 481 #
Proposal for a regulation
Recital 57
Recital 57
(57) Three categories of systemic risks should be assessed in-depth. A first category concerns the risks associated with the misuse of their service through the dissemination of illegal content, such as the dissemination of child sexual abuse material or illegal hate speech, and the conduct of illegal activities, such as the sale of products or services prohibited by Union or national law, including unsafe, counterfeit or non-compliant products. For example, and without prejudice to the personal responsibility of the recipient of the service of very large online platforms for possible illegality of his or her activity under the applicable law, such dissemination or activities may constitute a significant systematic risk where access to such content may be amplified through accounts with a particularly wide reach. A second category concerns the impact of the service on the exercise of fundamental rights, as protected by the Charter of Fundamental Rights, including the freedom of expression and information, the right to private life, the right to non-discrimination and the rights of the child. Such risks may arise, for example, in relation to the design of the algorithmic systems used by the very large online platform or the misuse of their service through the submission of abusive notices or other methods for silencing speech or hampering competition. A third category of risks concerns the intentional and, oftentimes, coordinated manipulation of the platform’s service, with a foreseeable impact on health, civic discourse, electoral processes, public security and protection of minors, having regard to the need to safeguard public order, protect privacy and fight fraudulent and deceptive commercial practices. Such risks may arise, for example, through the creation of fake accounts, the use of bots, and other automated or partially automated behaviours, which may lead to the rapid and widespread dissemination of information that is illegal content or incompatible with an online platform’s terms and conditions.
Amendment 508 #
Proposal for a regulation
Recital 65 a (new)
Recital 65 a (new)
(65a) Due to their market position, very large online platforms have developed an increasing influence over society’s social, economic, and political interactions. Consumers face a lock-in situation, which may lead them into accepting unfavourable terms and conditions to participate in the services provided by these very large online platforms. To restore a competitive market and to allow consumers more choices, very large online platforms should be required to setup the necessary technical access points to create interoperability for their core services, with a view to allowing competitors a fairer market access and enabling more choice for consumers, while at the same time complying with privacy, security and safety standards. These access points should create interoperability for other online platform services of the same type, without the need to convert digital content or services to ensure functionality.
Amendment 606 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 1 – paragraph 2 – point b
Article 1 – paragraph 2 – point b
(b) set out uniformharmonised rules for a safe, accessible, predictable and trusted online environment, where fundamental rights enshrined in the Charter, including a high level of consumer protection, are effectively protected.
Amendment 636 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 1 – paragraph 5 – point i a (new)
Article 1 – paragraph 5 – point i a (new)
(ia) Directive (EU)2020/1828;
Amendment 640 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 1 – paragraph 5 – point i a (new)
Article 1 – paragraph 5 – point i a (new)
(ia) Directive (EU) 2019/882
Amendment 765 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 5 – paragraph 2
Article 5 – paragraph 2
2. Paragraph 1 shall not apply where the recipient of the service is acting under the authority, decisive influence or the control of the provider.
Amendment 777 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 5 a (new)
Article 5 a (new)
Amendment 928 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 12 – paragraph 1
Article 12 – paragraph 1
1. Providers of intermediary services shall include information on any restrictions that they impose in relation to the use of their service in respect of information provided by the recipients of the service, in theiruse fair, non-discriminatory and transparent contract terms and conditions. T that information shall include information on any policies, procedures, measures and tools used for the purpose of content moderation, including algorithmic decision-making and human review. It shall be set outshall be drafted in clear and unambiguous language and shall bare publicly available in an easily accessible format in a searchable archive of all the previous versions with their date of application.
Amendment 1015 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 13 a (new)
Article 13 a (new)
Amendment 1019 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 13 b (new)
Article 13 b (new)
Amendment 1059 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 14 – paragraph 3
Article 14 – paragraph 3
3. Notices that include the elements referred to in paragraph 2 shall be considered to give rise to actual knowledge or awareness for the purposes of Article 5 in respect of the specific item of information concerned. A provider shall be exempted from liability despite knowledge for a time that is appropriate to take an informed decision on the matter.
Amendment 1078 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 14 – paragraph 6 a (new)
Article 14 – paragraph 6 a (new)
6a. Where an online platform that allows consumers to conclude distance contracts with traders, detects and identifies illegal goods or services, it shall be obliged to establish an internal database of those goods and services that had previously been taken down by the online platform because they had been found to be illegal or harmful. They shall, under the inclusion of elements listed in the Rapid Exchange of Information System (RAPEX) and other relevant public databases, scan their database on a daily basis to detect illegal goods and services. If this process detects a good or service that has previously been found to be illegal or harmful, the online platform shall be obliged to delete the content expeditiously.
Amendment 1132 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 15 a (new)
Article 15 a (new)
Amendment 1145 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 17 – paragraph 1 – introductory part
Article 17 – paragraph 1 – introductory part
1. Online platforms shall provide recipients of the service, and individuals or entities that have submitted a notice for a period of at least six months following the decision referred to in this paragraph, the access to an effective internal complaint-handling system, which enables the complaints to be lodged electronically and free of charge, against the decision taken by the provider of the online platform not to act upon the receipt of a notice or against the following decisions taken by the online platform on the ground that the information provided by the recipients is illegal content or incompatible with its terms and conditions:
Amendment 1152 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 17 – paragraph 1 – point a
Article 17 – paragraph 1 – point a
(a) decisions whether or not to remove or disable access to or restrict visibility of the information;
Amendment 1159 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 17 – paragraph 1 – point b
Article 17 – paragraph 1 – point b
(b) decisions whether or not to suspend or terminate the provision of the service, in whole or in part, to the recipients;
Amendment 1163 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 17 – paragraph 1 – point c
Article 17 – paragraph 1 – point c
(c) decisions whether or not to suspend or terminate the recipients’ account.
Amendment 1200 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 18 – paragraph 1 – subparagraph 1
Article 18 – paragraph 1 – subparagraph 1
Recipients of the service addressed by the decisions referred to in Article 17(1), shall be entitled to select any out-of-court dispute that has been certified in accordance with paragraph 2 in order to resolve disputes relating to those decisions, including complaints that could not be resolved by means of the internal complaint-handling system referred to in that Article. Online platforms shall engage, in good faith, with the body selected with a view to resolving the dispute and shall be bound by the decision taken by the bodyalways direct recipients to an out-of-court dispute settlement body. The information about the competent out-of-court body shall be easily accessible on the online interface of the online platform in a clear and an user-friendly manner.
Amendment 1205 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 18 – paragraph 1 – subparagraph 2
Article 18 – paragraph 1 – subparagraph 2
Amendment 1208 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 18 – paragraph 1 a (new)
Article 18 – paragraph 1 a (new)
1a. Online platforms shall engage, in good faith, with the independent, external certified body selected with a view to resolving the dispute and shall be bound by the decision taken by the body.
Amendment 1243 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 18 – paragraph 2 a (new)
Article 18 – paragraph 2 a (new)
2a. Certified out-of-court dispute settlement bodies shall draw up annual reports listing the number of complaints received annually, the outcomes of the decisions delivered, any systematic or sectoral problems identified, and the average time taken to resolve the disputes.
Amendment 1276 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 19 – paragraph 2 – point b
Article 19 – paragraph 2 – point b
(b) it is an individual rightholder or represents collective interests and is independent from any online platform;
Amendment 1362 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 21 – paragraph 2 a (new)
Article 21 – paragraph 2 a (new)
2a. When a platform that allows consumers to conclude distance contracts with traders becomes aware that a piece of information, a product or service poses a serious risk to the life, health or safety of consumers, it shall promptly inform the competent authorities of the Member State or Member States concerned and provide all relevant information available.
Amendment 1712 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 30 – paragraph 1
Article 30 – paragraph 1
1. Very large online platforms that display advertising on their online interfaces shall compile and make publicly available and searchable through easy to access, functionable and reliable tools through application programming interfaces a repository containing the information referred to in paragraph 2, until onfive year after the advertisement was displayed for the last time on their online interfaces. They shall ensure multi- criterion queries can be performed per advertiser and per all data points present in the advertisement, and provide aggregated data for these queries on the amount spent, the target of the advertisement, and the audience the advertiser wishes to reach. They shall ensure that the repository does not contain any personal data of the recipients of the service to whom the advertisement was or could have been displayed.
Amendment 1759 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 31 – paragraph 3
Article 31 – paragraph 3
3. Very large online platforms shall provide access to data pursuant to paragraphs 1 and 2 through online databases or application programming interfaces, as appropriate., and with an easily accessible and user-friendly mechanism to search for multiple criteria, such as those reported in accordance with the obligations set out in Articles 13 and 23
Amendment 1771 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 31 – paragraph 5
Article 31 – paragraph 5
5. The Commission shall, after consulting the Board, and no later than one year after entry into force of this legislation, adopt delegated acts laying down the technical conditions under which very large online platforms are to share data pursuant to paragraphs 1 and 2 and the purposes for which the data may be used. Those delegated acts shall lay down the specific conditions under which such sharing of data with vetted researchers can take place in compliance with Regulation (EU) 2016/679, taking into account the rights and interests of the very large online platforms and the recipients of the service concerned, including the protection of confidential information, in particular trade secrets, and maintaining the security of their service.
Amendment 1804 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 33 a (new)
Article 33 a (new)
Article 33a Algorithm accountability 1. When using automated decision- making, the very large online platform shall perform an assessment of the algorithms used. 2. When carrying out the assessment referred into paragraph 1, the very large online platform shall assess the following elements: (a) the compliance with corresponding Union requirements; (b) how the algorithm is used and its impact on the provision of the service; (c) the impact on fundamental rights, including on consumer rights, as well as the social effect of the algorithms; and (d) whether the measures implemented by the very large online platform to ensure the resilience of the algorithm are appropriate with regard to the importance of the algorithm for the provision of the service and its impact on elements referred to in point (c). 3. When performing its assessment, the very large online platform may seek advice from relevant national public authorities, researchers and non- governmental organisations. 4. Following the assessment, referred to in paragraph 2, the very large online platform shall communicate its findings to the Commission. The Commission shall be entitled to request additional explanation on the conclusion of the findings, or when the additional information on the findings provided are not sufficient, any relevant information on the algorithm in question in relation to points a), b), c) and d) of Paragraph 2. The very large online platform shall communicate such additional information within a period of two weeks following the request of the Commission. 5. Where the very large online platform finds that the algorithm used does not comply with point (a), or (d) of paragraph 2 of this Article, the provider of the very large online platform shall take appropriate and adequate corrective measures to ensure the algorithm complies with the criteria set out in paragraph 2. 6. Where the Commission finds that the algorithm used by the very large online platform does not comply with point (a), (c), or (d) of paragraph 2 of this Article, on the basis of the information provided by the very large online platform, and that the very large online platform has not undertaken corrective measures as referred into Paragraph 5 of this Article, the Commission shall recommend appropriate measures laid down in this Regulation to stop the infringement.
Amendment 1809 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 33 a (new)
Article 33 a (new)
Article 33a Interoperability 1. Very large online platforms shall provide, by creating and offering an application programming interface, options enabling the interoperability of their core services to other online platforms. 2. Application programming interfaces should be easy to use, while the processing of personal data shall only be possible in a manner that ensures appropriate security of these data. Measures under paragraph (1) may not limit, hinder or delay the ability of content hosting platforms to fix security issues, nor should the need to fix security issues lead to an undue delay for the provision on interoperability. 3. This Article is without prejudice to any limitations and restrictions set out in Regulation (EU) 2016/679.
Amendment 1811 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 34 – paragraph 1 – introductory part
Article 34 – paragraph 1 – introductory part
1. The Commission shall support and promote the development and implementation of voluntary industry standards set by relevant European and international standardisation bodies, and whenever available widely-used information and communication technology standards that meet the requirements set out in Annex II of Regulation No. 1025/2012, at least for the following:
Amendment 1822 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 34 – paragraph 1 – point e
Article 34 – paragraph 1 – point e
(e) interoperability of the advertisement repositories referred to in Article 30(2), and the APIs referred to in Article 33a;
Amendment 1842 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 34 – paragraph 2 a (new)
Article 34 – paragraph 2 a (new)
2a. The absence of such standards as defined in this article should not prevent the timely implementation of the measures outlined in this regulation.