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Activities of José GUSMÃO related to 2020/0361(COD)

Shadow opinions (1)

2021/10/29
Committee: ECON
Dossiers: 2020/0361(COD)
Documents: PDF(394 KB) DOC(264 KB)
Authors: [{'name': 'Mikuláš PEKSA', 'mepid': 197539}]

Amendments (139)

Proposal for a regulation
Recital 2

(2) Member States are increasingly introducing, or are considering introducing, national laws on the matters covered by this Regulation, imposing, in particular, diligence requirements for providers of intermediary services. Those diverging national laws negatively affect the internal market, which, pursuant to Article 26 of the Treaty, comprises an area without internal frontiers in which the free movement of goods and services and freedom of establishment are ensured, taking into account the inherently cross- border nature of the internet, which is generally used to provide those services. The conditions for the provision of intermediary services across the internal market should be harmonised, so as to provide businesses with access to new markets and opportunities to exploit the benefits of the internal market, while allowing consumers and other recipients of the services to have increased choice without lock-in effects.

2021/09/10
Committee: ECON

Proposal for a regulation
Recital 4

(4) Therefore, in order to safeguard and improve the functioning of the internal market and ensure that citizens’ fundamental rights are respected, a targeted set of uniform, effective and proportionate mandatory rules should be established at Union level. This Regulation provides the conditions for innovative digital services to emerge and to scale up in the internal market. The approximation of national regulatory measures at Union level concerning the requirements for providers of intermediary services is necessary in order to avoid and put an end to fragmentation of the internal market and to ensure legal certainty, thus reducing uncertainty for developers and fostering interoperability. By using requirements that are technology neutral, innovation should not be hampered but instead be stimulated.

2021/09/10
Committee: ECON

Proposal for a regulation
Recital 4 a (new)

(4a) Lack of harmonised accessibility requirements for digital services and platforms will also create barriers for the implementation of existing Union legislation on accessibility. Therefore, accessibility requirements for intermediary services, including their user interfaces, must be consistent with existing Union accessibility legislation, such as the European Accessibility Act and the Web Accessibility Directive, so that no one is left behind as a result of digital innovation. This aim is in line with the Union of Equality: Strategy for the Rights of Persons with Disabilities 2021- 2030 and the Union’s commitment to the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals. Accessibility for persons with disabilities means that services, technologies and products are perceivable, operable, understandable and robust for persons with disabilities.

2021/09/10
Committee: ECON

Proposal for a regulation
Recital 8

(8) Such a substantial connection to the Union should be considered to exist where the service provider has an establishment in the Union or, in its absence, on the basis of the ~~existence of a significant number of users in one or more Member States, or the~~ targeting of activities towards one or more Member States. The targeting of activities towards one or more Member States can be determined on the basis of all relevant circumstances, including factors such as the use of a language or a currency generally used in that Member State, or the possibility of ordering products or services, or using a national top level domain. The targeting of activities towards a Member State could also be derived from the availability of an application in the relevant national application store, from the provision of local advertising or advertising in the language used in that Member State, or from the handling of customer relations such as by providing customer service in the language generally used in that Member State. A substantial connection should also be assumed where a service provider directs its activities to one or more Member State as set out in Article 17(1)(c) of Regulation (EU) 1215/2012 of the European Parliament and of the Council27 . On the other hand, mere technical accessibility of a website from the Union cannot, on that ground alone, be considered as establishing a substantial connection to the Union. _________________ 27 Regulation (EU) No 1215/2012 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 12 December 2012 on jurisdiction and the recognition and enforcement of judgments in civil and commercial matters (OJ L351, 20.12.2012, p.1).

2021/09/10
Committee: ECON

Proposal for a regulation
Recital 9

(9) This Regulation should ~~complement, yet~~ not affect the application of rules resulting from other acts of Union law regulating certain aspects of the provision of intermediary services, in particular Directive 2000/31/EC, with the exception of those changes introduced by this Regulation, Directive 2010/13/EU of the European Parliament and of the Council as amended,28 and Regulation (EU) …/.. of the European Parliament and of the Council29 – proposed Terrorist Content Online Regulation. Therefore, this Regulation leaves those other acts, which are to be considered lex specialis in relation to the generally applicable framework set out in this Regulation, unaffected. However, the rules of this Regulation apply in respect of issues that are not or not fully addressed by those other acts as well as issues on which those other acts leave Member States the possibility of adopting certain measures at national leveIn the event of a conflict between lex specialis Directives and their implementing national measures and the present Regulation, the lex specialis provisions shall prevail. _________________ 28Directive 2010/13/EU of the European Parliament and of the Council of 10 March 2010 on the coordination of certain provisions laid down by law, regulation or administrative action in Member States concerning the provision of audiovisual media services (Audiovisual Media Services Directive) (Text with EEA relevance), OJ L 95, 15.4.2010, p. 1 . 29Regulation (EU) …/.. of the European Parliament and of the Council – proposed Terrorist Content Online Regulation

2021/09/10
Committee: ECON

Proposal for a regulation
Recital 10

(10) For reasons of clarity, it should also be specified that this Regulation is without prejudice to Regulation (EU) 2019/1148 of the European Parliament and of the Council30 and Regulation (EU) 2019/1150 of the European Parliament and of the Council,31 , Directive 2002/58/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council32 and Regulation […/…] on temporary derogation from certain provisions of Directive 2002/58/EC33 as well as Union law on consumer protection, in particular Directive 2005/29/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council34 , Directive 2011/83/EU of the European Parliament and of the Council35 and Directive 93/13/EEC of the European Parliament and of the Council36 , as amended by Directive (EU) 2019/2161 of the European Parliament and of the Council37 , and on the protection of personal data, in particular Regulation (EU) 2016/679 of the European Parliament and of the Council.38 The protection of individuals with regard to the processing of personal data is solely governed by the rules of Union law on that subject, in particular Regulation (EU) 2016/679 and Directive 2002/58/EC. This Regulation is also without prejudice to the rules of Union or national law on working conditions. _________________ 30Regulation (EU) 2019/1148 of the European Parliament and of the Council on the marketing and use of explosives precursors, amending Regulation (EC) No 1907/2006 and repealing Regulation (EU) No 98/2013 (OJ L 186, 11.7.2019, p. 1). 31 Regulation (EU) 2019/1150 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 20 June 2019 on promoting fairness and transparency for business users of online intermediation services (OJ L 186, 11.7.2019, p. 57). 32Directive 2002/58/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 12 July 2002 concerning the processing of personal data and the protection of privacy in the electronic communications sector (Directive on privacy and electronic communications), OJ L 201, 31.7.2002, p. 37. 33Regulation […/…] on temporary derogation from certain provisions of Directive 2002/58/EC. 34Directive 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’) 35Directive 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. 36Council Directive 93/13/EEC of 5 April 1993 on unfair terms in consumer contracts. 37Directive (EU) 2019/2161 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 27 November 2019 amending Council Directive 93/13/EEC and Directives 98/6/EC, 2005/29/EC and 2011/83/EU of the European Parliament and of the Council as regards the better enforcement and modernisation of Union consumer protection rules 38Regulation (EU) 2016/679 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 27 April 2016 on the protection of natural persons with regard to the processing of personal data and on the free movement of such data, and repealing Directive 95/46/EC (General Data Protection Regulation) (OJ L 119, 4.5.2016, p. 1).

2021/09/10
Committee: ECON

Proposal for a regulation
Recital 11

(11) It should be clarified that this Regulation is without prejudice to the rules of Union law on copyright and related rights as implemented in national laws to ensure the highest level of protection of these rights, which establish specific rules and procedures that should remain unaffected.

2021/09/10
Committee: ECON

Proposal for a regulation
Recital 12

(12) In order to achieve the objective of ensuring a safe, predictable and trusted online environment, for the purpose of this Regulation the concept of “illegal content” should be defined broadly and ~~also~~refer back to EU and national legal definitions as well as covers information relating to illegal content, products, services and activities. In particular, that concept should be understood to refer to information, irrespective of its form, that under the applicable law is either itself illegal, such as illegal hate speech or terrorist content and unlawful discriminatory content, or that relates to activities that are illegal, such as the sharing of images depicting child sexual abuse, unlawful non- consensual sharing of private images, online stalking, the sale of non-compliant or counterfeit products, the non-authorised use of copyright protected material or activities involving infringements of consumer protection law. In this regard, it is immaterial whether the illegality of the information or activity results from Union law or from national law that is consistent with Union law and what the precise nature or subject matter is of the law in question.

2021/09/10
Committee: ECON

Proposal for a regulation
Recital 12 a (new)

(12a) More than 80% of illegal content is removed solely on the basis of the automated mechanisms put in place by the platforms. This content, which is potentially the most toxic, is therefore never brought to the attention of law enforcement authorities and thus escapes any judicial sanction. This situation should therefore be remedied as it sets a dangerous precedent where big platforms decide on what constitutes illegal content.

2021/09/10
Committee: ECON

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 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 the provider of intermediary services has 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.

2021/09/10
Committee: ECON

Proposal for a regulation
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 manner. 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.deleted

2021/09/10
Committee: ECON

Proposal for a regulation
Recital 27

(27) Since 2000, new technologies have emerged that improve the availability, efficiency, speed, reliability, capacity and security of systems for the transmission and storage of data online, leading to an increasingly complex online ecosystem. In this regard, it should be recalled that providers of services establishing and facilitating the underlying logical architecture and proper functioning of the internet, including technical auxiliary functions, can also benefit from the exemptions from liability set out in this Regulation, to the extent that their services qualify as ‘mere conduits’, ‘caching’ or hosting services. Such services include, as the case may be, wireless local area networks, domain name system (DNS) services, top–level domain name registries, certificate authorities that issue digital certificates, Virtual Private Networks (VPN) or content delivery networks, that enable or improve the functions of other providers of intermediary services. Likewise, services used for communications purposes, and the technical means of their delivery, have also evolved considerably, giving rise to online services such as Voice over IP, messaging services and web-based e-mail services, where the communication is delivered via an internet access service. Those services, too, can benefit from the exemptions from liability, to the extent that they qualify as ‘mere conduit’, ‘caching’ or hosting service.

2021/09/10
Committee: ECON

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 and balanced set of harmonised due diligence obligations for providers of intermediary services. Those obligations should aim in particular to reinforce and guarantee different ~~public policy objective~~legislation and rights 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.

2021/09/10
Committee: ECON

Proposal for a regulation
Recital 38

(38) Whilst the freedom of contract of providers of intermediary services should in principle be respected, it is appropriate to set certain rules on the content, application and enforcement of the terms and conditions of those providers in the interests of transparency, the protection of recipients of the service and the avoidance of unfair or arbitrary outcomes and the protection of fundamental values such as freedom and pluralism of the media.

2021/09/10
Committee: ECON

Proposal for a regulation
Recital 38 a (new)

(38a) To comply with the fundamental rights of freedom and pluralism of the media, terms and conditions of providers of intermediary services should not interfere with the content and the account of providers of professional media services providers. Professional media services providers comply with a sector- specific regulatory framework (including self-regulation), have editorial responsibility and are subject to independent media supervisory authorities.

2021/09/10
Committee: ECON

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~~ that provider should prevent the reappearance of the notified or equivalent illegal information. The provider should also 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.

2021/09/10
Committee: ECON

Proposal for a regulation
Recital 43

(43) To avoid disproportionate burdens, the additional obligations imposed on online platforms under this Regulation should not apply to micro or small enterprises as defined in Recommendation 2003/361/EC of the Commission,41 unless their reach and impact is such that they meet the criteria to qualify as very large online platforms under this Regulation. The consolidation rules laid down in that Recommendation help ensure that any circumvention of those additional obligations is prevented. The exemption of micro- and small enterprises from those additional obligations should not be understood as affecting their ability to set up, on a voluntary basis, a system that complies with one or more of those obligations. _________________ 41Commission Recommendation 2003/361/EC of 6 May 2003 concerning the definition of micro, small and medium-sized enterprises (OJ L 124, 20.5.2003, p. 36).deleted

2021/09/10
Committee: ECON

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 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~~public 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 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

2021/09/10
Committee: ECON

Proposal for a regulation
Recital 48 a (new)

(48a) Online transparency requirements for commercial entities are vital for ensuring accountability, trust and access to effective redress. To this end, Article 5 of Directive 2000/31/EC establishes general information requirements for service providers to render to service recipients and competent authorities. The Know Your Business Customer provision should prohibit providers of intermediary services from providing their services to unverified customers and oblige them to cease the provision of their services when the identification provided proves to be incomplete, inaccurate or fraudulent.

2021/09/10
Committee: ECON

Proposal for a regulation
Recital 50 a (new)

(50a) Without prejudice to Article 16, to strengthen the obligations of online marketplaces, further ex-ante provisions must be put in place, so as to ensure ex ante that consumers have the necessary information for product offers, prevent unsafe and non-compliant products and product categories, strengthen ex-ante actions against product counterfeiting as well as to cooperate (ex-post) where necessary with regard to dangerous products already sold.

2021/09/10
Committee: ECON

Proposal for a regulation
Recital 52

(52) Online advertisement plays an important role in the online environment, including in relation to the provision of the services of online platforms. However, online advertisement can contribute to significant risks, ranging from advertisement that is itself illegal content, to contributing to financial incentives for the publication or amplification of illegal or otherwise harmful content and activities online, or the discriminatory display of advertising with an impact on over- consumption and climate change as well as the equal treatment and opportunities of citizens. In addition to the requirements resulting from Article 6 of Directive 2000/31/EC, online platforms should therefore be required to ensure that the recipients of the service have certain individualised information necessary for them to understand when and on whose behalf the advertisement is displayed. In addition, recipients of the service should have information on the main parameters used for determining that specific advertising is to be displayed to them, providing meaningful explanations of the logic used to that end, including when this is based on profiling. Lastly, basing advertisements on user behaviour should be prohibited. Personalised advertisements can be based on the content the user is viewing only and tracking the user beyond the platform itself, on the wider web, is forbidden. The requirements of this Regulation on the provision of information relating to advertisement is without prejudice to the application of the relevant provisions of Regulation (EU) 2016/679, in particular those regarding the right to object, automated individual decision-making, including profiling and specifically the need to obtain consent of the data subject prior to the processing of personal data for targeted advertising. Similarly, it is without prejudice to the provisions laid down in Directive 2002/58/EC in particular those regarding the storage of information in terminal equipment and the access to information stored therein.

2021/09/10
Committee: ECON

Proposal for a regulation
Recital 56

(56) Very large online platforms are used in a way that strongly influences safety online, the shaping of public opinion and discourse, as well as on online trade. The way they design their services is generally optimised to benefit their often advertising-driven business models and can cause societal concerns. In the absence of effective regulation and enforcement, they can set the rules of the game, without effectively identifying and mitigating the risks and the societal and economic harm they can cause. Under this Regulation, very large online platforms should therefore assess the systemic risks stemming from the functioning and use of their service, as well as by potential misuses by the recipients of the service, and take appropriate mitigating measures to redress in particular filtering bubbles and filtering effects.

2021/09/10
Committee: ECON

(59) Very large online platforms should, where appropriate, conduct their risk assessments and design their risk mitigation measures with the involvement of representatives of the recipients of the service, representatives of groups potentially impacted by their services, namely human rights defence associations, trade unions, independent experts and ~~civil society~~other organisations.

2021/09/10
Committee: ECON

Proposal for a regulation
Recital 62

(62) A core part of ~~a very large~~ online platform’s business is the manner in which information is prioritised and presented on its online interface to facilitate and optimise access to information for the recipients of the service. This is done, for example, by algorithmically suggesting, ranking and prioritising information, distinguishing through text or other visual representations, or otherwise curating information provided by recipients. Such recommender systems can have a significant impact on the ability of recipients to retrieve and interact with information online. They also play an important role in the amplification of certain messages, the viral dissemination of information and the stimulation of online behaviour. Consequently, ~~very large~~ online platforms should ensure that recipients are appropriately informed, and can influence the information presented to them. They should clearly present the main parameters for such recommender systems in an easily comprehensible manner to ensure that the recipients understand how information is prioritised for them. They should also ensure that the recipients enjoy alternative options for the main parameters, including options that are not based on profiling of the recipient.

2021/09/10
Committee: ECON

Proposal for a regulation
Recital 66

(66) To facilitate the effective and consistent application of the obligations in this Regulation that may require implementation through technological means, it is important to promote voluntary industry standards covering certain technical procedures, where the industry can help develop standardised means to comply with this Regulation, such as allowing the submission of notices, including through application programming interfaces, or about the interoperability of advertisement repositories. Such standards could in particular be useful for relatively small providers of intermediary services. The standards could distinguish between different types of illegal content or different types of intermediary services, as appropriate.deleted

2021/09/10
Committee: ECON

Proposal for a regulation
Recital 67

(67) The Commission and the Board should encourage the drawing-up of codes of conduct to contribute to the application of this Regulation. While the implementation of codes of conduct should be measurable and subject to public oversight, this should not impair the voluntary nature of such codes and the freedom of interested parties to decide whether to participate. In certain circumstances, it is important that very large online platforms cooperate in the drawing-up and adhere to specific codes of conduct. Nothing in this Regulation prevents other service providers from adhering to the same standards of due diligence, adopting best practices and benefitting from the guidance provided by the Commission and the Board, by participating in the same codes of conduct.deleted

2021/09/10
Committee: ECON

Proposal for a regulation
Recital 68

(68) It is appropriate that this Regulation identify certain areas of consideration for such codes of conduct. In particular, risk mitigation measures concerning specific types of illegal content should be explored via self- and co-regulatory agreements. Another area for consideration is the possible negative impacts of systemic risks on society and democracy, such as disinformation or manipulative and abusive activities. This includes coordinated operations aimed at amplifying information, including disinformation, such as the use of bots or fake accounts for the creation of fake or misleading information, sometimes with a purpose of obtaining economic gain, which are particularly harmful for vulnerable recipients of the service, such as children. In relation to such areas, adherence to and compliance with a given code of conduct by a very large online platform may be considered as an appropriate risk mitigating measure. The refusal without proper explanations by an online platform of the Commission’s invitation to participate in the application of such a code of conduct could be taken into account, where relevant, when determining whether the online platform has infringed the obligations laid down by this Regulation.deleted

2021/09/10
Committee: ECON

Proposal for a regulation
Recital 69

(69) The rules on codes of conduct under this Regulation could serve as a basis for already established self- regulatory efforts at Union level, including the Product Safety Pledge, the Memorandum of Understanding against counterfeit goods, the Code of Conduct against illegal hate speech as well as the Code of practice on disinformation. In particular for the latter, the Commission will issue guidance for strengthening the Code of practice on disinformation as announced in the European Democracy Action Plan.deleted

2021/09/10
Committee: ECON

Proposal for a regulation
Recital 73 a (new)

(73a) Given the cross-border nature of the services at stake and the horizontal range of obligations introduced by this Regulation, the country-of-origin principle must be adjusted, so as to share the burden and avoid a risk for some authorities to be unable to carry out their tasks. Such a cooperation would allow proper account of national specificities relating to the regulation of content, while bearing in mind the respect for EU legislation, namely with regard to fundamental rights and the rule of law. Prerogatives of intervention in favour of the competent authorities of the country of destination.

2021/09/10
Committee: ECON

Proposal for a regulation
Recital 97

(97) ~~The Commission should remain free to decide whether or not it wishes to intervene in any of the situations where it is empowered to do so under this Regulation.~~ Once the Commission initiated the proceedings, the Digital Services Coordinators of establishment concerned should be precluded from exercising their investigatory and enforcement powers in respect of the relevant conduct of the very large online platform concerned, so as to avoid duplication, inconsistencies and risks from the viewpoint of the principle of ne bis in idem. However, in the interest of effectiveness, those Digital Services Coordinators should not be precluded from exercising their powers either to assist the Commission, at its request in the performance of its supervisory tasks, or in respect of other conduct, including conduct by the same very large online platform that is suspected to constitute a new infringement. Those Digital Services Coordinators, as well as the Board and other Digital Services Coordinators where relevant, should provide the Commission with all necessary information and assistance to allow it to perform its tasks effectively, whilst conversely the Commission should keep them informed on the exercise of its powers as appropriate. In that regard, the Commission should, where appropriate, take account of any relevant assessments carried out by the Board or by the Digital Services Coordinators concerned and of any relevant evidence and information gathered by them, without prejudice to the Commission’s powers and responsibility to carry out additional investigations as necessary.

2021/09/10
Committee: ECON

Proposal for a regulation
Article 1 – paragraph 1 – point a

(a) a framework for the ~~conditional exemption from~~ liability of providers of intermediary services;

2021/09/10
Committee: ECON

Proposal for a regulation
Article 1 – paragraph 2 – point b

(b) set out uniform rules for a safe, universally accessible, predictable and trusted online environment, where fundamental rights enshrined in the Charter are effectively protected.

2021/09/10
Committee: ECON

Proposal for a regulation
Article 1 – paragraph 5 – point b

(b) Directive ~~2010/13/EC;~~(EU) 2019/882

2021/09/10
Committee: ECON

Proposal for a regulation
Article 1 – paragraph 5 – point c

(c) Union law on copyright and related rights as implemented in national laws so as to ensure the highest level of protection of these rights;

2021/09/10
Committee: ECON

Proposal for a regulation
Article 2 – paragraph 1 – point d – introductory part

(d) ‘to offer services in the Union’ means enabling legal or natural persons in one or more Member States to use the services of the provider of information society services which has a substantial connection to the Union; such a substantial connection is deemed to exist ~~where the provider has an establishment in the Union; in the absence of such an establishment, the assessment of a substantial connection is based on specific factual criteria, such as:~~based on specific factual criteria, such as the targeting of activities towards one or more Member States, and/or the fact that there are users in one or more Member States;

2021/09/10
Committee: ECON

Proposal for a regulation
Article 2 – paragraph 1 – point d – indent 1

~~— a significant number of users in one or more Member States; or~~deleted

2021/09/10
Committee: ECON

Proposal for a regulation
Article 2 – paragraph 1 – point d – indent 2

~~— the targeting of activities towards one or more Member States.~~deleted

2021/09/10
Committee: ECON

Proposal for a regulation
Article 2 – paragraph 1 – point n

(n) ‘advertisement’ means information designed to promote the message of a legal or natural person, irrespective of whether to achieve commercial or non-commercial purposes, and displayed by an online platform on its online interface against indirect and direct forms of remuneration specifically for promoting that information;

2021/09/10
Committee: ECON

Proposal for a regulation
Article 2 – paragraph 1 – point o

(o) ‘recommender system’ means a fully or partially automated system used by an online platform to suggest in its online interface specific information to recipients of the service, including as a result of a search initiated by the recipient or otherwise determining the relative order or prominence of information displayed as well as ranking and prioritisation techniques;

2021/09/10
Committee: ECON

Proposal for a regulation
Article 2 – paragraph 1 – point q a (new)

(qa) ‘online marketplace’ means a service using software, including a website, part of a website or an application, operated by or on behalf of a trader which allows consumers to conclude distance contracts with other traders or consumers, according to Directive (EU) 2019/2161;

2021/09/10
Committee: ECON

Proposal for a regulation
Article 5 – paragraph 3

3. ~~Paragraph 1 shall not apply with respect to liability under consumer protection law of online platforms allowing consumers to conc~~Online marketplaces and traders can be jointly liable for: - non-compliance of their due diligence obligations; - damages, when failing to act upon obtaining credible evidence of illegal activities, without incurring into a general duty to monitor the activity of platform users; - damages, contract performance and guarantees: 1- for failudre ~~distance contracts with traders, where such an online platform presents the specific item of information or otherwise enables the specific transaction at issue in a way~~to inform consumers about the supplier of the goods or services, in line with Article 4.5 of the Omnibus Directive introducing the new Art. 6a.1,b) of the Consumer Rights Directive and CJEU Wathelet case C-149/15; 2- for providing misleading information, guarantees, or statements; where the platform has a predominant influence over suppliers or the transaction. Such predominant influence or control can be inferred by non-exhaustive and non-cumulative criteria that would ~~lea~~be assessed aon a~~verage and reasonably well-infor~~ case-by-case basis by courts such as: a) The supplier-customedr con~~sumer to believe that the information,~~tract is concluded exclusively through facilities provided on the platform; b) The platform operator withholds the identity orf the ~~product or service that is the object of the transaction, is provided either by the online platform itself or by a recipient of the service who is acting under its authority or control.~~ supplier or contact details until after the conclusion of the supplier- customer contract; c) The platform operator exclusively uses payment systems which enable the platform operator to withhold payments made by the customer to the supplier; d) The terms of the supplier-customer contract are essentially determined by the platform operator; e) The price to be paid by the customer is set by the platform operator; f) The marketing is focused on the platform operator and not on suppliers; or g) The platform operator promises to monitor the conduct of suppliers and to enforce compliance with its standards beyond what is required by law.

2021/09/10
Committee: ECON

Proposal for a regulation
Article 7 – paragraph 1

No general obligation to monitor the information which providers of intermediary services transmit or store, nor actively to seek facts or circumstances indicating illegal activity shall be imposed on those providers. No provision of this Regulation shall be understood as mandating, requiring or recommending the use of automated decision-making, or the monitoring of the behaviour of a large number of natural persons. When using moderation content automated tools, intermediary services should always ensure a human oversight of the decision to remove, disable, restrict or modify in any way the information content.

2021/09/10
Committee: ECON

Proposal for a regulation
Article 7 – paragraph 1 a (new)

Online market places should conduct periodic checks on trader accounts and the products and services they facilitate offering.

2021/09/10
Committee: ECON

Proposal for a regulation
Article 9 – paragraph 1 a (new)

1a. Providers of intermediary services shall ensure that there is a digital identification which allows for the identification of the person responsible for each online account, in order to prevent the creation of fake profiles.

2021/09/10
Committee: ECON

Proposal for a regulation
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 their terms and conditions. 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 out in clear and unambiguous language and shall be publicly available in an easily accessible format. A summary of the terms and conditions, setting out the most important points in concise, clear and unambiguous language shall also be publicly available.

2021/09/10
Committee: ECON

Proposal for a regulation
Article 12 – paragraph 2

2. Providers of intermediary services shall act in a diligent, objective, transparent, non-discriminatory and proportionate manner in applying and enforcing the restrictions referred to in paragraph 1, with due regard to the rights and legitimate interests of all parties involved, including the applicable fundamental rights of the recipients of the service as enshrined in the Charter.

2021/09/10
Committee: ECON

Proposal for a regulation
Article 12 – paragraph 2 – subparagraph 1 (new)

Terms and conditions of providers of intermediary services shall respect the essential principles of fundamental rights as enshrined in the Charter and in international law.

2021/09/10
Committee: ECON

Proposal for a regulation
Article 12 – paragraph 2 – point b (new)

(b) All changes in terms and conditions shall be fully in accordance with this Article and users shall be informed of such changes at least two months before their implementation.

2021/09/10
Committee: ECON

Proposal for a regulation
Article 12 – paragraph 2 – point c (new)

(c) Very large online platforms shall consult their terms of service with the Digital Services Coordinator and such terms shall only enter into force after approval from the Digital Services Coordinator.

2021/09/10
Committee: ECON

Proposal for a regulation
Article 13 – paragraph 2

2. Paragraph 1 shall not apply to providers of intermediary services that qualify as micro ~~or small~~ enterprises within the meaning of the Annex to Recommendation 2003/361/EC.

2021/09/10
Committee: ECON

Proposal for a regulation
Article 14 – paragraph 1

1. Providers of hosting services shall put mechanisms in place to allow any individual or entity to notify them of the presence on their service of specific items of information that the individual or entity considers to be illegal, abusive or harmful content. Those mechanisms shall be ~~easy to~~universally accessible, user- friendly, and allow for the submission of notices exclusively by electronic means.

2021/09/10
Committee: ECON

Proposal for a regulation
Article 14 – paragraph 2 – introductory part

2. The mechanisms referred to in paragraph 1 shall be such as to facilitate the submission of sufficiently precise and adequately substantiated notices, on the basis of which a diligent economic operator can identify the illegality or the abusive/harmful nature of the content in question. To that end, the providers shall take the necessary measures to enable and facilitate the submission of notices containing all of the following elements:

2021/09/10
Committee: ECON

Proposal for a regulation
Article 14 – paragraph 2 – point a

(a) an explanation of the reasons why the individual or entity considers the information in question to be illegal, abusive or harmful content;

2021/09/10
Committee: ECON

Proposal for a regulation
Article 14 – paragraph 2 – point b

(b) a clear indication of the electronic location of that information, in particular the exact URL or URLs, and, where necessary, additional information enabling the identification of the illegal, abusive or harmful content;

2021/09/10
Committee: ECON

Proposal for a regulation
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 and 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 and shall create an obligation on behalf of the notified provider of hosting services to remove or disable access to the notified information and equivalent information expeditiously.

2021/09/10
Committee: ECON

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. 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. This shall include meaningful information about the procedure followed, the technology used and the criteria and reasoning supporting the decision, as well as the logic involved in the automated decision-making.

2021/09/10
Committee: ECON

Proposal for a regulation
Article 15 – paragraph 2 – point e

(e) where the decision is based on the alleged incompatibility of the information with the terms and conditions of the provider or with citizens’ fundamental rights, a reference to the contractual ground relied on and explanations as to why the information is considered to be incompatible with that ground;

2021/09/10
Committee: ECON

Proposal for a regulation
Article 15 – paragraph 3

3. The information provided by the providers of hosting services in accordance with this Article shall be universally accessible, clear and easily comprehensible and as precise and specific as reasonably possible under the given circumstances. The information shall, in particular, be such as to reasonably allow the recipient of the service concerned to effectively exercise the redress possibilities referred to in point (f) of paragraph 2.

2021/09/10
Committee: ECON

Proposal for a regulation
Article 15 – paragraph 4

4. Providers of hosting services shall publish the decisions and the statements of reasons, referred to in paragraph 1 in a publicly and universally accessible database managed by the Commission. That information shall not contain personal data.

2021/09/10
Committee: ECON

Exclusion for micro ~~and small~~ enterprises

2021/09/10
Committee: ECON

Proposal for a regulation
Article 16 – paragraph 1

This Section shall not apply to online platforms that qualify as micro ~~or small~~ enterprises within the meaning of the Annex to Recommendation 2003/361/EC.

2021/09/10
Committee: ECON

Proposal for a regulation
Article 17 – paragraph 5

5. Online platforms shall ensure that the decisions, referred to in paragraph 4, are not solely taken on the basis of automated means and are reviewed by qualified staff to whom adequate initial and ongoing training on the applicable legislation and international human rights standards as well as appropriate working conditions are to be provided.

2021/09/10
Committee: ECON

Proposal for a regulation
Article 19 – paragraph 2 – point b

(b) it represents ~~collective~~public interests and is independent from any online platform or from commercial interests;

2021/09/10
Committee: ECON

Proposal for a regulation
Article 19 – paragraph 2 – point c a (new)

(ca) it publishes, at least twice a year, a clear and easily comprehensible report on notices submitted in accordance with Article 14 during the relevant period covered by the report. The report shall contain: - a summary of notices categorised by the identity of the provider of hosting services; - the type of content notified; - the specific legal provisions allegedly breached by the content notified; - the action taken by the provider, and - any potential conflicts of interest and sources of funding.

2021/09/10
Committee: ECON

Proposal for a regulation
Article 19 – paragraph 4

4. The Commission shall publish the information referred to in paragraph 3 in a publicly available and universally accessible database and keep the database updated.

2021/09/10
Committee: ECON

Proposal for a regulation
Article 20 – paragraph 1 a (new)

1a. Online platforms shall suspend, for a reasonable period of time and after having issued a prior warning, the provision of services to recipients of the service that frequently provide content that violates citizens’ fundamental rights, such as hate speech, appeals to violence and other discriminatory content.

2021/09/10
Committee: ECON

Proposal for a regulation
Article 20 – paragraph 4

4. Online platforms shall set out, in a clear, universally accessible and detailed manner, their policy in respect of the misuse referred to in paragraphs 1 and 2 in their terms and conditions, including as regards the facts and circumstances that they take into account when assessing whether certain behaviour constitutes misuse and the duration of the suspension.

2021/09/10
Committee: ECON

Proposal for a regulation
Article 23 – paragraph 1 – point b

(b) the number of suspensions imposed pursuant to Article 20, distinguishing between suspensions enacted for the provision of manifestly illegal content, the provision of abusive/harmful content, the submission of manifestly unfounded notices and the submission of manifestly unfounded complaints;

2021/09/10
Committee: ECON

Proposal for a regulation
Article 23 – paragraph 3 a (new)

3a. Online platforms shall clearly state how and for what purpose they collect data from users of the service and how, to whom and for what purpose they further disseminate the data collected. This information should be made available in a universally accessible and easily readable format.

2021/09/10
Committee: ECON

Proposal for a regulation
Article 24 – paragraph 1 – introductory part

Online platforms shall not engage in advertising based on the profiling of their users unless they clearly express their acceptance of such practice. Online platforms shall not restrict consumer choice by making the access to some of their features dependent on the acceptance of profiling. Online platforms that display advertising on their online interfaces shall ensure that the recipients of the service can identify, for each specific advertisement displayed to each individual recipient, in a clear and unambiguous manner and in real time:

2021/09/10
Committee: ECON

Proposal for a regulation
Article 24 – paragraph 1 – point c

(c) meaningful information about the ~~main~~ parameters used to determine the recipient to whom the advertisement is displayed and how to change those parameters and/or block unwanted advertising.

2021/09/10
Committee: ECON

Proposal for a regulation
Article 25 a (new)

Article 25 a Very large online platforms that provide intermediary services to connect sellers and buyers shall not take part in their own platforms in competition with other sellers. This article shall apply to VLOP that use proprietary marketplaces for the advertisement and selling of their own merchandise, thus preventing anti- competitive measures and fostering a level playing field in the Single Market.

2021/09/10
Committee: ECON

Proposal for a regulation
Article 26 – paragraph 1 – point c

(c) malfunctioning or intentional manipulation of their service, including by means of inauthentic use or automated exploitation of the service, with an actual or foreseeable negative effect on the protection of ~~public health, minors, civic discourse,~~human rights or actual or foreseeable effects related to electoral processes and public security.

2021/09/10
Committee: ECON

Proposal for a regulation
Article 26 – paragraph 2

2. When conducting risk assessments, very large online platforms shall take into account, in particular, how their content moderation systems, recommender systems and systems for selecting and displaying advertisement influence any of the systemic risks referred to in paragraph 1, including the potentially rapid and wide dissemination of illegal or harmful content and of information that is incompatible with their terms and conditions.

2021/09/10
Committee: ECON

Proposal for a regulation
Article 26 – paragraph 2 a (new)

2a. The outcome of the risk assessment and the supporting documents shall be communicated to the Board and to the Digital Services Coordinator of establishment. A summary version of the risk assessment shall be made publicly available in an universally and easily accessible format.

2021/09/10
Committee: ECON

Proposal for a regulation
Article 27 – paragraph 2 – point b

(b) best practices for very large online platforms to mitigate the systemic risks identified. Those reports should be disseminated to the general public in an universally accessible format and include open data describing the systemic risks, especially risks to human rights.

2021/09/10
Committee: ECON

Proposal for a regulation
Article 27 a (new)

Article 27 a Mitigation of risks for the freedom of expression and freedom and pluralism of the media 1. Where specific systemic risks for the exercise of freedom of expression and freedom and pluralism of the media pursuant to Article 26(1)(b) emerge, very large online platforms shall ensure that the exercise of these fundamental rights is always adequately and effectively protected. 2. Where very large online platforms allow for the dissemination of press publications within the meaning of Art. 2(4) of Directive (EU) 2019/790, of audiovisual media services within the meaning of Article 1(1)(a) of Directive 2010/13/EU (AVMS) or of other editorial media, which are published in compliance with applicable Union and national law under the editorial responsibility and control of a press publisher, audiovisual or other media service provider, who can be held liable under the laws of a Member State, the platforms shall be prohibited from removing, disabling access to, suspending or otherwise interfering with such content or services or suspending or terminating the service providers’ accounts on the basis of the alleged incompatibility of such content with their terms and conditions. 3. Very large online platforms shall ensure that their content moderation, their decision-making processes, the features or functioning of their services, their terms and conditions and recommender systems are objective, fair and non-discriminatory.

2021/09/10
Committee: ECON

1. Very large online platforms that use recommender systems shall set out in their terms and conditions, in a clear, accessible and easily comprehensible manner, the main parameters used in their recommender systems, as well as any options for the recipients of the service to modify or influence those main parameters that they may have made available~~, including at least one option which is not based on profi~~. Online platforms shall ensure consumers are not profiled by default, unless they genuinely opt-in, in ling,e within the ~~meaning of Article 4 (4) of~~requirements established under Regulation (EU) 2016/679.

2021/09/10
Committee: ECON

Proposal for a regulation
Article 33 – paragraph 1

1. Very large online platforms shall publish, in an universally accessible and easily readable format, the reports referred to in Article 13 within six months from the date of application referred to in Article 25(4), and thereafter every six months.

2021/09/10
Committee: ECON

Proposal for a regulation
Article 33 – paragraph 3

3. Where a very large online platform considers that the publication of information pursuant to paragraph 2 may result in the disclosure of confidential information of that platform or of the recipients of the service, may cause significant vulnerabilities for the security of its service, may undermine public security or may harm recipients, the platform may remove such information from the reports. In that case, that platform shall transmit the complete reports to the Digital Services Coordinator of establishment and the Commission, accompanied by a statement of the reasons for removing the information from the public reports.deleted

2021/09/10
Committee: ECON

Proposal for a regulation
Article 37 – paragraph 5 a (new)

5a. All crisis protocols are to be subjected to scrutiny by the appropriate committees of the European Parliament.

2021/09/10
Committee: ECON

Proposal for a regulation
Article 39 – paragraph 3

3. Paragraph 2 is without prejudice to the tasks of Digital Services Coordinators within the system of supervision and enforcement provided for in this Regulation and the cooperation with other competent authorities in accordance with Article 38(2). Paragraph 2 shall not prevent supervision of the authorities concerned in accordance with national constitutional law. Digital Services Coordinators shall write a report, which is to be published in the information sharing system pursuant to Article 67 of this Regulation and presented to the European Parliament.

2021/09/10
Committee: ECON

Proposal for a regulation
Article 42 – paragraph 3

3. Member States shall ensure that the maximum amount of penalties imposed for a failure to comply with the obligations laid down in this Regulation shall not exceed 610 % of the annual income or turnover of the provider of intermediary services concerned. Penalties for the supply of incorrect, incomplete or misleading information, failure to reply or rectify incorrect, incomplete or misleading information and to submit to an on-site inspection shall not exceed 15% of the annual income or turnover of the provider concerned.

2021/09/10
Committee: ECON

Proposal for a regulation
Article 42 – paragraph 4

4. Member States shall ensure that the maximum amount of a periodic penalty payment shall not exceed 510 % of the average daily turnover of the provider of intermediary services concerned in the preceding financial year per day, calculated from the date specified in the decision concerned.

2021/09/10
Committee: ECON

Proposal for a regulation
Article 44 – paragraph 1

1. Digital Services Coordinators shall draw up an annual report on their activities under this Regulation. They shall make the annual reports available to the public in an universally accessible and easily readable format, and shall communicate them to the Commission and to the Board.

2021/09/10
Committee: ECON

Proposal for a regulation
Article 48 – paragraph 3

3. The Board shall be chaired by ~~the Commission. The Commission~~a president elected within its members. The chair of the Board shall not be allowed to lead any national regulatory office in the irrespective Member states at the same time. The chair mandate should be limited to a maximum of 3 years, renewable once. The chair of the Board shall convene the meetings and prepare the agenda in accordance the tasks of the Board pursuant to this Regulation and with its rules of procedure.

2021/09/10
Committee: ECON

Proposal for a regulation
Article 48 – paragraph 6

6. The Board shall adopt its rules of procedure, ~~following the consent of the Commission~~by a two-thirds majority of its members and shall organise its own operational arrangements.

2021/09/10
Committee: ECON

Proposal for a regulation
Article 49 – paragraph 1 – point d

(d) ~~advise the Commission~~decide to take the measures referred to in Article 51 and, where requested by the Commission, adopt opinions on draft Commission measures concerning very large online platforms in accordance with this Regulation;

2021/09/10
Committee: ECON

Proposal for a regulation
Article 50 – paragraph 1 – introductory part

1. Where the Digital Services Coordinator of establishment adopts a decision finding that a very large online platform has infringed any of the provisions of Section 4 of Chapter III, it shall make use of the enhanced supervision system laid down in this Article. ~~It shall take utmost account of any opinion and recommendation of the Commission and the Board pursuant to~~The Board, acting on its own initiative or upon request of at least three Digital Services Coordinators of destination, shall, where it has reasons to suspect that a very large online platform infringed any of those provisions, make use of the enhanced supervision system laid down in this Article.

2021/09/10
Committee: ECON

Proposal for a regulation
Article 50 – paragraph 1 – subparagraph 1

The Commission acting on its own initiative, or the Board acting on its own initiative or upon request of at least three Digital Services Coordinators of destination, may, where it has reasons to suspect that a very large online platform infringed any of those provisions, recommend the Digital Services Coordinator of establishment to investigate the suspected infringement with a view to that Digital Services Coordinator adopting such a decision within a reasonable time period.deleted

2021/09/10
Committee: ECON

Proposal for a regulation
Article 50 – paragraph 4 – subparagraph 1

Pursuant to that communication, the Digital Services Coordinator of establishment shall no longer be entitled to take any investigatory or enforcement measures in respect of the relevant conduct by the very large online platform concerned, without prejudice to Article 66 or any other measures that it may take at the request of the Commission or the Board.

2021/09/10
Committee: ECON

Proposal for a regulation
Article 51 – title

Intervention by the Commission and/or the Board and opening of proceedings

2021/09/10
Committee: ECON

Proposal for a regulation
Article 51 – paragraph 1 – introductory part

1. The Commission or the Board, acting either upon ~~the Board’s recommend~~recommendation of at least three Digital Services Coordinators of destination or on ~~its~~their own initiative after consulting the Board, may initiate proceedings in view of the possible adoption of decisions pursuant to Articles 58 and 59 in respect of the relevant conduct by the very large online platform that:

2021/09/10
Committee: ECON

Proposal for a regulation
Article 52 – paragraph 3

3. Where the Commission or the Board requires the very large online platform concerned or other person referred to in Article 52(1) to supply information by decision, it shall state the legal basis and the purpose of the request, specify what information is required and set the time period within which it is to be provided. It shall also indicate the penalties provided for in Article 59 and indicate or impose the periodic penalty payments provided for in Article 60. It shall further indicate the right to have the decision reviewed by the Court of Justice of the European Union.

2021/09/10
Committee: ECON

Proposal for a regulation
Article 52 – paragraph 5

5. At the request of the Commission or the Board, the Digital Services Coordinators and other competent authorities shall provide the Commission or the Board with all necessary information to carry out the tasks assigned to it under this Section.

2021/09/10
Committee: ECON

Proposal for a regulation
Article 53 – paragraph 1

In order to carry out the tasks assigned to it under this Section, the Commission and the Board may interview any natural or legal person which consents to being interviewed for the purpose of collecting information, relating to the subject-matter of an investigation, in relation to the suspected infringement or infringement, as applicable.

2021/09/10
Committee: ECON

Proposal for a regulation
Article 54 – paragraph 1

1. In order to carry out the tasks assigned to it under this Section, the Commission or the Board may conduct on-site inspections at the premises of the very large online platform concerned or other person referred to in Article 52(1).

2021/09/10
Committee: ECON

Proposal for a regulation
Article 54 – paragraph 2

2. On-site inspections may also be carried out with the assistance of auditors or experts appointed by the Commission or the Board pursuant to Article 57(2).

2021/09/10
Committee: ECON

Proposal for a regulation
Article 54 – paragraph 3

3. During on-site inspections the Commission or the Board and auditors or experts appointed by ithem may require the very large online platform concerned or other person referred to in Article 52(1) to provide explanations on its organisation, functioning, IT system, algorithms, data- handling and business conducts. The Commission, the Board and auditors or experts appointed by ithem may address questions to key personnel of the very large online platform concerned or other person referred to in Article 52(1).

2021/09/10
Committee: ECON

Proposal for a regulation
Article 54 – paragraph 4

4. The very large online platform concerned or other person referred to in Article 52(1) is required to submit to an on-site inspection ordered by decision of the Commission or the Board. The decision shall specify the subject matter and purpose of the visit, set the date on which it is to begin and indicate the penalties provided for in Articles 59 and 60 and the right to have the decision reviewed by the Court of Justice of the European Union.

2021/09/10
Committee: ECON

Proposal for a regulation
Article 55 – paragraph 1

1. In the context of proceedings which may lead to the adoption of a decision of non-compliance pursuant to Article 58(1), where there is an urgency due to the risk of serious damage for the recipients of the service, the Commission or the Board may, by decision, order interim measures against the very large online platform concerned on the basis of a prima facie finding of an infringement.

2021/09/10
Committee: ECON

Proposal for a regulation
Article 56

1. If, during proceedings under this Section, the very large online platform concerned offers commitments to ensure compliance with the relevant provisions of this Regulation, the Commission may by decision make those commitments binding on the very large online platform concerned and declare that there are no further grounds for action. 2. The Commission may, upon request or on its own initiative, reopen the proceedings: (a) where there has been a material change in any of the facts on which the decision was based; (b) where the very large online platform concerned acts contrary to its commitments; or (c) where the decision was based on incomplete, incorrect or misleading information provided by the very large online platform concerned or other person referred to in Article 52(1). 3. Where the Commission considers that the commitments offered by the very large online platform concerned are unable to ensure effective compliance with the relevant provisions of this Regulation, it shall reject those commitments in a reasoned decision when concluding the proceedings.Article 56 deleted Commitments

2021/09/10
Committee: ECON

Proposal for a regulation
Article 57 – paragraph 1

1. For the purposes of carrying out the tasks assigned to it under this Section, the Commission and the Board may take the necessary actions to monitor the effective implementation and compliance with this Regulation by the very large online platform concerned. The Commission and the Board may also order that platform to provide access to, and explanations relating to, its databases and algorithms.

2021/09/10
Committee: ECON

Proposal for a regulation
Article 57 – paragraph 2

2. The actions pursuant to paragraph 1 may include the appointment of independent external experts and auditors to assist the Commission and the Board in monitoring compliance with the relevant provisions of this Regulation and to provide specific expertise or knowledge to the Commission and the Board.

2021/09/10
Committee: ECON

Proposal for a regulation
Article 58 – paragraph 1 – introductory part

1. The Commission and the Board shall adopt a non- compliance decision where it finds that the very large online platform concerned does not comply with one or more of the following:

2021/09/10
Committee: ECON

Proposal for a regulation
Article 58 – paragraph 1 – point c

~~(c) commitments made binding pursuant to Article 56,~~deleted

2021/09/10
Committee: ECON

Proposal for a regulation
Article 58 – paragraph 2

2. Before adopting the decision pursuant to paragraph 1, the Commission or the Board shall communicate its preliminary findings to the very large online platform concerned. In the preliminary findings, the Commission or the Board shall explain the measures that it considers taking, or that it considers that the very large online platform concerned should take, in order to effectively address the preliminary findings.

2021/09/10
Committee: ECON

Proposal for a regulation
Article 58 – paragraph 3

3. In the decision adopted pursuant to paragraph 1 the Commission or the Board shall order the very large online platform concerned to take the necessary measures to ensure compliance with the decision pursuant to paragraph 1 within a reasonable time period and to provide information on the measures that that platform intends to take to comply with the decision.

2021/09/10
Committee: ECON

Proposal for a regulation
Article 58 – paragraph 4

4. The very large online platform concerned shall provide the Commission or the Board with a description of the measures it has taken to ensure compliance with the decision pursuant to paragraph 1 upon their implementation.

2021/09/10
Committee: ECON

Proposal for a regulation
Article 58 – paragraph 5

5. Where the Commission or the Board finds that the conditions of paragraph 1 are not met, it shall close the investigation by a decision.

2021/09/10
Committee: ECON

Proposal for a regulation
Article 59 – paragraph 1 – introductory part

1. In the decision pursuant to Article 58, the Commission or the Board may impose on the very large online platform concerned fines not exceeding 610% of its total turnover in the preceding financial year where it finds that that platform, intentionally or negligently:

2021/09/10
Committee: ECON

Proposal for a regulation
Article 59 – paragraph 1 – point c

~~(c) fails to comply with a voluntary measure made binding by a decision pursuant to Articles 56.~~deleted

2021/09/10
Committee: ECON

Proposal for a regulation
Article 59 – paragraph 2 – introductory part

2. The Commission or the Board may by decision impose on the very large online platform concerned or other person referred to in Article 52(1) fines not exceeding 15% of the total turnover in the preceding financial year, where they intentionally or negligently:

2021/09/10
Committee: ECON

Proposal for a regulation
Article 59 – paragraph 2 – point b

(b) fail to rectify within the time period set by the Commission or the Board, incorrect, incomplete or misleading information given by a member of staff, or fail or refuse to provide complete information;

2021/09/10
Committee: ECON

Proposal for a regulation
Article 59 – paragraph 3

3. Before adopting the decision pursuant to paragraph 2, the Commission or the Board shall communicate its preliminary findings to the very large online platform concerned or other person referred to in Article 52(1).

2021/09/10
Committee: ECON

Proposal for a regulation
Article 60 – paragraph 1 – introductory part

1. The Commission or the Board may, by decision, impose on the very large online platform concerned or other person referred to in Article 52(1), as applicable, periodic penalty payments not exceeding 510 % of the average daily turnover in the preceding financial year per day, calculated from the date appointed by the decision, in order to compel them to:

2021/09/10
Committee: ECON

~~(d) comply with commitments made legally binding by a decision pursuant to Article 56(1);~~deleted

2021/09/10
Committee: ECON

Proposal for a regulation
Article 60 – paragraph 2

2. Where the very large online platform concerned or other person referred to in Article 52(1) has satisfied the obligation which the periodic penalty payment was intended to enforce, the Commission or the Board may fix the definitive amount of the periodic penalty payment at a figure lower than that which would arise under the original decision.

2021/09/10
Committee: ECON

Proposal for a regulation
Article 61 – paragraph 1

1. The powers conferred on the Commission and the Board by Articles 59 and 60 shall be subject to a limitation period of ~~five~~ten years.

2021/09/10
Committee: ECON

Proposal for a regulation
Article 61 – paragraph 3 – introductory part

3. Any action taken by the Commission, the Board or by the Digital Services Coordinator for the purpose of the investigation or proceedings in respect of an infringement shall interrupt the limitation period for the imposition of fines or periodic penalty payments. Actions which interrupt the limitation period shall include, in particular, the following:

2021/09/10
Committee: ECON

Proposal for a regulation
Article 61 – paragraph 4

4. Each interruption shall start time running afresh. However, the limitation period for the imposition of fines or periodic penalty payments shall expire at the latest on the day on which a period equal to twice the limitation period has elapsed without the Commission or the Board having imposed a fine or a periodic penalty payment. That period shall be extended by the time during which the limitation period is suspended pursuant to paragraph 5.

2021/09/10
Committee: ECON

Proposal for a regulation
Article 61 – paragraph 5

5. The limitation period for the imposition of fines or periodic penalty payments shall be suspended for as long as the decision of the Commission or the Board is the subject of proceedings pending before the Court of Justice of the European Union.

2021/09/10
Committee: ECON

Proposal for a regulation
Article 62 – paragraph 1

1. The power of the Commission and the Board to enforce decisions taken pursuant to Articles 59 and 60 shall be subject to a limitation period of ~~five~~ten years.

2021/09/10
Committee: ECON

Proposal for a regulation
Article 62 – paragraph 3 – point b

(b) by any action of the Commission, the Board or of a Member State acting at the request of the Commission, designed to enforce payment of the fine or periodic penalty payment.

2021/09/10
Committee: ECON

Proposal for a regulation
Article 63 – paragraph 1 – introductory part

1. Before adopting a decision pursuant to Articles 58(1), 59 or 60, the Commission or the Board shall give the very large online platform concerned or other person referred to in Article 52(1) the opportunity of being heard on:

2021/09/10
Committee: ECON

Proposal for a regulation
Article 63 – paragraph 1 – point a

(a) preliminary findings of the Commission or the Board, including any matter to which the ~~Commission~~y hasve taken objections; and

2021/09/10
Committee: ECON

Proposal for a regulation
Article 63 – paragraph 1 – point b

(b) measures that the Commission or the Board may intend to take in view of the preliminary findings referred to point (a).

2021/09/10
Committee: ECON

Proposal for a regulation
Article 63 – paragraph 2

2. The very large online platform concerned or other person referred to in Article 52(1) may submit their observations on the Commission’s or the Board's preliminary findings within a reasonable time period set by the Commission ~~in its~~or the Board in their preliminary findings, which may not be less than 14 days.

2021/09/10
Committee: ECON

Proposal for a regulation
Article 63 – paragraph 3

3. The Commission or the Board shall base its decisions only on objections on which the parties concerned have been able to comment.

2021/09/10
Committee: ECON

Proposal for a regulation
Article 63 – paragraph 4

4. The rights of defence of the parties concerned shall be fully respected in the proceedings. They shall be entitled to have access to the Commission's or the Board's file under the terms of a negotiated disclosure, subject to the legitimate interest of the very large online platform concerned or other person referred to in Article 52(1) in the protection of their business secrets. The right of access to the file shall not extend to confidential information and internal documents of the Commission, the Board or Member States’ authorities. In particular, the right of access shall not extend to correspondence between the Commission or the Board and those authorities. Nothing in this paragraph shall prevent the Commission or the Board from disclosing and using information necessary to prove an infringement.

2021/09/10
Committee: ECON

Proposal for a regulation
Article 64 – paragraph 1

1. The Commission or the Board shall publish the decisions it adopts pursuant to Articles 55(1), 56(1), 58, 59 and 60. Such publication shall state the names of the parties and the main content of the decision, including any penalties imposed.

2021/09/10
Committee: ECON

Proposal for a regulation
Article 65 – paragraph 1 – introductory part

1. Where all powers pursuant to this Article to bring about the cessation of an infringement of this Regulation have been exhausted, the infringement persists and causes serious harm which cannot be avoided through the exercise of other powers available under Union or national law, the Commission or the Board may request the Digital Services Coordinator of establishment of the very large online platform concerned to act pursuant to Article 41(3).

2021/09/10
Committee: ECON

Proposal for a regulation
Article 65 – paragraph 1 – subparagraph 1

Prior to making such request to the Digital Services Coordinator, the Commission or the Board shall invite interested parties to submit written observations within a time period that shall not be less than two weeks, describing the measures it intends to request and identifying the intended addressee or addressees thereof.

2021/09/10
Committee: ECON

Proposal for a regulation
Article 65 – paragraph 2 – introductory part

2. Where the coherent application of this Regulation so requires, the Commission or the Board, acting on ~~its~~their own initiative, may submit written observations to the competent judicial authority referred to Article 41(3). With the permission of the judicial authority in question, ithey may also make oral observations.

2021/09/10
Committee: ECON

Proposal for a regulation
Article 65 – paragraph 2 – subparagraph 1

For the purpose of the preparation of its observations only, the Commission or the Board may request that judicial authority to transmit or ensure the transmission to it of any documents necessary for the assessment of the case.

2021/09/10
Committee: ECON

Proposal for a regulation
Article 67 – paragraph 2

2. The Digital Services Coordinators, the Commission and the Board shall use the information sharing system for all communications pursuant to this Regulation. Relevant committees of the European Parliament shall be given access to that information sharing system to provide democratic oversight.

2021/09/10
Committee: ECON

Proposal for a regulation
Article 73 – paragraph 1

1. By ~~fiv~~three years after the entry into force of this Regulation at the latest, and every five years thereafter, the Commission and the Board shall evaluate this Regulation and report to the European Parliament, the Council and the European Economic and Social Committee.

2021/09/10
Committee: ECON

Proposal for a regulation
Article 73 – paragraph 2

2. For the purpose of paragraph 1, Member States ~~and the Board~~ shall send information on the request of the Commission or the Board. The Commission and the Board shall also exchange information between themselves.

2021/09/10
Committee: ECON

Proposal for a regulation
Article 73 – paragraph 3

3. In carrying out the evaluations referred to in paragraph 1, the Commission and the Board shall take into account the positions and findings of the European Parliament, the Council, and other relevant bodies or sources.

2021/09/10
Committee: ECON