BETA


2019/2915(RSP) Resolution on automated decision-making processes: ensuring consumer protection and free movement of goods and services

Progress: Procedure completed

RoleCommitteeRapporteurShadows
Lead IMCO DE SUTTER Petra (icon: Verts/ALE Verts/ALE)
Lead committee dossier:
Legal Basis:
RoP 136-p5

Events

2020/02/12
   EP - Results of vote in Parliament
2020/02/12
   EP - Decision by Parliament
Details

The European Parliament adopted a resolution, tabled by the Committee on the Internal Market and Consumer Protection, on automated decision-making processes: ensuring consumer protection and the free movement of goods and services.

Members consider that the rapid technological advances taking place in the fields of artificial intelligence (AI) present a number of challenges for consumer protection and that a common EU approach to the development of automated decision-making processes would help to mitigate the associated risks while helping the EU to promote its approach and values worldwide.

Consumer choice, trust and welfare

While welcoming the potential of automated decision-making to deliver innovative and improved services to consumers, including new digital services, Members are convinced however, that when consumers are interacting with a system that automates decision-making, they should be properly informed about how it functions, about how to reach a human with decision-making powers, and about how the system’s decisions can be checked and corrected.

The Commission is called on to:

- monitor the implementation of new rules under the Better Enforcement Directive (Directive (EU) 2019/2161 that require traders to inform consumers when prices of goods or services have been personalised on the basis of automated decision-making and profiling of consumer behaviour, allowing traders to assess the consumer’s purchasing power;

- monitor the implementation of the Geo-blocking Regulation (Regulation (EU) 2018/32)), in order to ensure that automatic decision-making is not being used to discriminate against consumers on the basis of their nationality, place of residence or temporary location;

- check whether obligations on traders enable effective consumer choice and offer sufficient consumer protection and check the existence of any regulatory gaps and to examine whether additional measures are necessary in order to guarantee a strong set of rights to protect consumers in the context of AI and automated decision-making.

Safety and liability framework for products

Parliament called on the Commission to:

- present proposals to adapt the EU’s safety rules for products covered by specific EU legislation that sets harmonised requirements, including the Machinery Directive, the Toy Safety Directive, the Radio Equipment Directive and the Low Voltage Directive, and for ‘non-harmonised products’ covered by the General Product Safety Directive;

- develop a risk assessment scheme for AI and automated decision-making in order to ensure a consistent approach to the enforcement of product safety legislation in the internal market;

- review that directive and consider adapting such concepts as ‘product’ ‘damage’ and ‘defect’, as well as adapting the rules governing the burden of proof.

Regulatory framework for services

Parliament recalled that the existing regulatory framework on services, consisting of the Services Directive, the Professional Qualifications Directive, the Proportionality Test Directive, the e-Commerce Directive and the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), already covers many policy aspects relevant for services that incorporate automated decision-making processes.

According to Members, humans must always be ultimately responsible for, and able to overrule, decisions that are taken in the context of professional services such as the medical, legal and accounting professions, and for the banking sector; recalls the importance of supervision or independent oversight by qualified professionals in cases of automated decision-making where legitimate public interests are at stake. The importance of properly assessing risks before automating professional services was recalled.

Quality and transparency in data governance

Parliament stressed the importance of using only high quality and unbiased data to improve the performance of algorithmic systems and to increase consumer confidence and acceptance, especially among vulnerable consumers.

Review structures are needed within business processes and consumers should be able to demand a human review and correction of automated decisions that are final. The algorithms underlying the automated decision making capabilities should be transparent and explainable to market surveillance authorities.

The Commission has been invited to monitor closely the implementation of the Platform-to-Business Regulation, especially the rules on the transparency of rankings, which involve use of automated decision-making processes.

Documents
2020/02/10
   EP - Oral question/interpellation by Parliament
Documents
2020/02/10
   EP - Motion for a resolution
Documents
2020/02/10
   EP - Debate in Parliament
2019/11/06
   EP - DE SUTTER Petra (Verts/ALE) appointed as rapporteur in IMCO

Documents

Activities

Votes

B9-0094/2020 - Am 3 #

2020/02/12 Outcome: -: 489, +: 139, 0: 18
IE ?? EL CY HU LU FI LV MT BE SI EE SK DK LT HR SE CZ AT PT BG NL DE FR RO ES IT PL
Total
11
1
15
6
15
6
12
6
6
20
8
6
14
13
11
12
18
21
18
20
16
26
89
74
32
54
69
47
icon: Verts/ALE Verts/ALE
64

Ireland Verts/ALE

2

Luxembourg Verts/ALE

For (1)

1

Finland Verts/ALE

3

Latvia Verts/ALE

1

Belgium Verts/ALE

3

Denmark Verts/ALE

2

Lithuania Verts/ALE

2

Sweden Verts/ALE

3

Czechia Verts/ALE

3

Austria Verts/ALE

3

Portugal Verts/ALE

1

Netherlands Verts/ALE

3

Spain Verts/ALE

2
icon: GUE/NGL GUE/NGL
34

Ireland GUE/NGL

3

GUE/NGL

1

Cyprus GUE/NGL

2

Finland GUE/NGL

For (1)

1

Belgium GUE/NGL

For (1)

1

Denmark GUE/NGL

1

Sweden GUE/NGL

For (1)

1

Czechia GUE/NGL

1

Portugal GUE/NGL

3

Netherlands GUE/NGL

For (1)

1

Germany GUE/NGL

3
icon: NI NI
25

Hungary NI

Abstain (1)

1

Slovakia NI

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Abstain (1)

2

Germany NI

2
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54

Greece ECR

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1

Latvia ECR

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1

Belgium ECR

2

Lithuania ECR

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1

Croatia ECR

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1

Sweden ECR

2

Bulgaria ECR

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Netherlands ECR

4

Germany ECR

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1
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Finland ID

2

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1

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3
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Ireland Renew

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Hungary Renew

2

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3

Latvia Renew

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1

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icon: S&D S&D
140

Greece S&D

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Cyprus S&D

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5
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Cyprus PPE

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B9-0094/2020 - Am 5 #

2020/02/12 Outcome: -: 437, +: 179, 0: 26
IT EL ?? IE CY BE FR HU LU EE SI LV MT FI DK LT SK AT CZ SE HR NL PT BG DE RO ES PL
Total
68
15
1
11
6
19
75
15
6
6
8
6
6
13
13
11
14
18
21
18
12
26
20
16
85
32
54
47
icon: Verts/ALE Verts/ALE
63

Ireland Verts/ALE

2

Belgium Verts/ALE

2

Luxembourg Verts/ALE

For (1)

1

Latvia Verts/ALE

1

Finland Verts/ALE

3

Denmark Verts/ALE

2

Lithuania Verts/ALE

2

Austria Verts/ALE

3

Czechia Verts/ALE

3

Sweden Verts/ALE

3

Netherlands Verts/ALE

3

Portugal Verts/ALE

1

Spain Verts/ALE

2
icon: ID ID
69

Estonia ID

Against (1)

1

Finland ID

2

Denmark ID

Abstain (1)

1

Austria ID

3

Czechia ID

2
icon: NI NI
25

Hungary NI

1

Slovakia NI

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2

Croatia NI

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2

Germany NI

2
icon: GUE/NGL GUE/NGL
34

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1

Ireland GUE/NGL

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3

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1

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1

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1

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1

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1

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3

Germany GUE/NGL

3
icon: ECR ECR
54

Greece ECR

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1

Belgium ECR

2

Latvia ECR

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1

Lithuania ECR

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1

Slovakia ECR

2

Sweden ECR

2

Croatia ECR

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1

Netherlands ECR

4

Bulgaria ECR

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1

Germany ECR

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1
icon: Renew Renew
94

Ireland Renew

2

Hungary Renew

2

Luxembourg Renew

2

Estonia Renew

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2

Slovenia Renew

2

Latvia Renew

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1

Finland Renew

3

Lithuania Renew

2

Slovakia Renew

For (1)

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2

Austria Renew

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1

Sweden Renew

2

Croatia Renew

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1

Bulgaria Renew

3
icon: S&D S&D
137

Greece S&D

Against (1)

2

Cyprus S&D

2

Belgium S&D

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3

Luxembourg S&D

Abstain (1)

1

Estonia S&D

2

Slovenia S&D

2

Latvia S&D

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1

Malta S&D

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4

Finland S&D

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5
icon: PPE PPE
166

Cyprus PPE

2

Belgium PPE

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4

Luxembourg PPE

2

Estonia PPE

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1

Slovenia PPE

4

Latvia PPE

2

Malta PPE

2

Finland PPE

2

Denmark PPE

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1

Netherlands PPE

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5

History

(these mark the time of scraping, not the official date of the change)

docs/1/docs/0/url
Old
http://www.europarl.europa.eu/doceo/document/B-9-2020-0094_EN.html
New
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2020-02-12T00:00:00
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type
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body
EP
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2020-02-12T00:00:00
docs
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Text adopted by Parliament, single reading
body
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2020-02-12T00:00:00
type
Decision by Parliament, 1st reading/single reading
body
EP
docs
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procedure/stage_reached
Old
Awaiting Parliament 1st reading / single reading / budget 1st stage
New
Procedure completed
procedure/title
Old
Automated decision-making processes: Ensuring consumer protection, and free movement of goods and services
New
Resolution on automated decision-making processes: ensuring consumer protection and free movement of goods and services
events/0/docs
  • url: http://www.europarl.europa.eu/sides/getDoc.do?secondRef=TOC&language=EN&reference=20200210&type=CRE title: Debate in Parliament
docs
  • date: 2020-02-10T00:00:00 docs: title: B9-0007/2020 type: Oral question/interpellation by Parliament body: EP
  • date: 2020-02-10T00:00:00 docs: url: http://www.europarl.europa.eu/doceo/document/B-9-2020-0094_EN.html title: B9-0094/2020 type: Motion for a resolution body: EP
events
  • date: 2020-02-10T00:00:00 type: Debate in Parliament body: EP
forecasts
  • date: 2020-02-10T00:00:00 title: Indicative plenary sitting date, 1st reading/single reading