Online intermediation services, such as platform-based services are, since 12 July 2020, subject to a new set of rules that apply directly throughout the European Union.
These rules are imposed by 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 (hereafter the “OIS Regulation”). These rules are directly applicable, because no transposal of the rules to national law is required for them to apply.
The Regulation sets out new transparency requirements for online intermediation services and search engines which will be accompanied by the development of new, complementary methods of dispute resolution.
For businesses the question is how they are affected by the new rules and what the practical impact these rules have for businesses that operate online.
In a first contribution we asses the purpose of this new requirements and the scope of application of the OIS Regulation.
The aim is to make clear why these rules have been elaborated and for which type of activities the OIS Regulation applies. This will allow businesses to further determine whether they need to take into account or not these rules.
While the title of the regulation refers to online intermediation services, it appears that also online search engines are concerned. The question is what type of activities are covered by both notions for the application of this regulation.
In following contributions we will take a deeper dive into the practical consequences of the different provisions of the OIS Regulation, including the contractual aspects of the OIS Regulation.