In this brief post we want to raise your attention to three legislative development affect business models of e-commerce platforms. Certain measures should be adopted by these platforms in order to comply with these new regulations.
First, on 3 December 2018, Regulation 2018/302 on geoblocking will enter into force on. In simple words, according to this regulation, a web site shall be accessible to consumers in any Member States. They cannot be redirected to a different web site (the one that corresponds to their country of residence) unless they give their consent. Furthermore, offers and promotions in a web site must be accessible to consumers in any Member State under the same conditions: you can still make special offers or apply different prices in a particular web site, but the web site and the offers must be accessible to any consumer regardless of the place of residence. There are certain important exemptions that should be taken into account. For instance, in relation to sale of goods, delivery to a different Member State can be banned or subject to special prices).
Second, a Recommendation on illegal content online was adopted in march. While not compulsory, this recommendation establishes some standards the European Commmission thinks the “notice and takedown” procedures in web sites should met. Such mechanisms should be easy to access, user-friendly. Furthermore, Content providers should be given the possibility to contest the decision through the submission of counter-notices.
Finally, a proposal for a Regulation on promoting fairness and transparency for business users of online intermediation services was published in April. If adopted, this regulation will establish certain conditions for the agreements between e-commerce platforms and vendors. This proposal is still at an early stage of the legislative process, but attention needs to be paid to it.