5 Digital products and information services...5 Skill upgrading...5 Intangible investments and assets...5 Information...
and effective use of broadband services require policies that: promote effective competition and continued to stress liberalisation in infrastructure, network services and applications across different technological platforms;
encourage investment in new technological infrastructure, content and applications; and technology neutrality among competing and developing technologies to encourage interoperability,
and between firms and consumers. 2 Digital products and information services These are an increasingly significant part of economic activity
OECD (1980), OECD Guidelines on the Protection of Privacy and Trans-border Flows of Personal data. 6 Government on-line On-line provision of government information and services can increase the efficiency and coverage
As model users of broadband, government can demonstrate the potential of broadband-based services and content, provide demonstration and pull-through mechanism for small firms.
Government demand aggregation to provide services can help spread new services more widely. Education, general government information and services
and provision of government services to businesses and citizens can all potentially benefit from the use of new high-speed infrastructure and services,
and should be given priority in government strategies. Key Policy Recommendations Move beyond policies for basic connectivity and ICT readiness to facilitate more widespread uptake and use of complex ICT applications and e-business uptake by small firms.
and promote broadband competition and liberalisation in network services and applications. Where the needs exist,
E-government services to enterprises should be used as a tool to improve efficiency of government interactions and operations with SMES.
In addition, they are effective tools for improving external communications and quality of services for established and new customers.
and availability and cost of appropriate interoperable small-firm systems, network infrastructure and Internet-related support services.
business consultation services and employee and management training to enhance ICT and managerial skills. Policies have shifted over time as firms
the sale or purchase of goods or services conducted over the Internet, with the goods and services ordered over the Internet,
and payment and ultimate delivery of the goods or services either on line or off line.
The OECD's broad definition includes transactions conducted over computer-mediated networks, such as the Internet, EDI (electronic data interchange), Minitel and interactive telephone systems. 10 In the B2c context, the Internet and e-commerce can be effective tools for better communication.
services or technologies can enhance the quality of a firm's services to customers and attract new customers.
services and technologies via the corporate Web site, order exchanges with regular customers, recruitment and receiving customer feedback.
Other major uses include providing product information (56%),setting up a Web page (54%),purchasing goods/services (53%)and building customer connections (48%)(Scally et al.
exhanges with regular clients PR of products/services/technologies E-mails with clients Genral information search Note:
Denmark and Norway also survey personal services. 1. Beginning of 2001 for Internet use; purchases and sales refer to 2000, for Canada,
In mid-2003, e-Choupal services reached more than 1 million farmers in nearly 11,000 villages.
or services did not lend themselves to Internet transactions. Figure 7. SMES in Europe: Reasons for not using the Internet for selling,
Some SMES in transport services also consider that the Internet does not suit their industry.
If firms can access affordable outside ICT services, lack of ICT expertise within the firm is not necessarily an obstacle to the decision to adopt Internet e-commerce.
Without internal technological capabilities, dependence on ICT support services for system maintenance can be dangerous
If ICT support services especially in an emergency, are needed to minimise the loss from a system malfunction,
The existence of local ICT services is an important issue, especially for small offices in remote areas or emerging economies,
where ICT services are generally scarce and costly. 21 Box 3. A magnet manufacturer's e-commerce success Ni-roku is a Japanese magnet manufacturer with 12 employees,
Logistics services, e g. package collection and delivery, also matter. While they can be subcontracted to private delivery services, some may charge higher rates to small businesses because of their location and/or small volume (Phillips, 2002.
This is a real concern for small businesses, especially those in remote districts where private package collection/delivery services may not be available at reasonable cost.
Items such as software, music and books can be delivered over the Internet, but the volume of such on-line delivery is still very small.
access and interoperability The availability of a wide range of Internet connections and other communication services, preferably at competitive prices, is very important in that it allows small businesses to choose different and appropriate services according to their specific needs and (initial
and globally competitive IT and ICT-enabled services industry. 23 Figure 9. Fixed and mobile phone growth in seven non-OECD countries and the United states per 1, 000 people 1195.6 1
Developing countries with widespread access to telecommunications and network services (i e. 40 mainlines or more per 100 people) are rare.
for example, telecommunication operators are required to contribute 1%of total revenues to a fund aimed at providing services to those excluded from the market.
A slightly higher percentage of firms in manufacturing, wholesale and business services receive orders over the Web than those in retail and construction.
%80%Construction Retail Wholesale Manufacturing business services Distribute information on products Receiving orders Order confirmation Source:
and business services: 910. Tourism In tourism, an area dominated by SMES in OECD countries, some small tour operators, hotels and inns, restaurants and travel agencies have been active in fostering cross-border Internet e-commerce.
Small players with a Web page can now attract those preferring personalised (and possibly less expensive) services.
Since the Internet and many travel-related sites allow on-line customers to compare the price of 32 air tickets and other travel services,
and services, is not small: in the United states, over 64 million people used the Internet for travel planning, little changed from 2002 due to the slower growth of wired households,
Retail Use of Internet commerce among SMES in the retail industry is lower than in business services and manufacturing.
Expectations of a higher level of services from better-known retailers, such as swift and reliable delivery of the purchased items,
A strategy for small on-line retailers would be to handle niche products and/or personalised services,
and customised services (Box 5). 33 Textiles Textile products, along with music and video, books and magazines and software, are among the leading consumer products sold over the Internet (OECD, 2002c).
The products of services like tourism, which are intangible in nature and have a high information content,
In many countries business and sector organisations are particularly important intermediaries for the diffusion of ebusiness strategies, awareness raising and consultation services,
The availability of a wide range of high quality Internet and communication services at competitive prices is particularly important
as this allows firms to choose services appropriate to their needs. In particular, broadband, characterised by high-speed, always-on connection and two-way capability, allows faster access and delivery of existing on-line services and new applications and services such as streaming audio and video over the Internet
with much higher quality. In this context, an additional focus on the wireless network infrastructure and the rapid growth of Wifi are also important.
and line sharing) create incentives for new investment in broadband access and drive faster deployment of broadband services (OECD, 2001c).
High-speed services are priced advantageous when on a flat-rate monthly basis and service is always on (OECD, 2001b).
so that SMES can choose among various technologies and services for high-speed Internet access. While some large firms use directly connected leased circuits for broadband applications,
In developing countries, multi-user services can be a very important tool for increasing coverage
and use of advanced services and could be supported where universal service is difficult to attain (see E-Choupal example in Box 2). Assessing benefits relative to costs SMES will adopt e-commerce
and consultation services can be beneficial. Such initiatives can also encourage SMES to develop niche products
and personalised services not provided by larger firms. On the cost side open source software has been proposed as an economically viable solution for establishing
especially when consultation services are provided to help develop business strategies based on realistic assessments of benefits and costs. 37 Security,
and consumers that their use of on-line services is secure, reliable and verifiable. Businesses need a legal framework that is predictable and practical for domestic and cross-border transactions.
E-government E-government, the provision of government services on line, has high priority in many OECD countries.
including greater efficiency and transparency and expanded provision of information and services (OECD, 2002b). Examples include the provision of government services on-line,
the simplification of administrative tasks such as value-added tax administration and business tax lodgement and collection. These on-line activities can also have significant effects on small businesses as they need to ensure access to government services
and obligatory requirements and interoperability with these services, affecting their choice of systems and software.
Technology neutrality and the interoperability of a variety of network infrastructures and software is essential
supply chain management, inventory, logistics and delivery, after-sales services, and other crucial business functions such as knowledge management, and finance.
In addition to a government portal covering a wide range of e-business issues with links to related support services, seminars and workshops that demonstrate possible integration of ICTS
and support services to develop a customised e-business strategy. Free consultation, including (limited) access to private services,
has been available in some countries, while some governments have covered part of charges. In the United kingdom, e-business advisers have provided small firms with free advice
Training is provided increasingly over the Internet and, in some cases, in conjunction with ICT and e-commerce awareness and business consultation services.
The UK Online for Business initiative is an example of such a programme, combining on-line information and consultation services with off-line business support services.
Commercial training services may be more sensitive to businesses'changing and specific needs and government training programmes need to cooperate fully with commercially available services.
Governments may also need to encourage a favourable business environment for provision of private ICT training services at a reasonable cost.
Business management capabilities are becoming a new category of generic competency in the context of overall management of business processes, rather than ICT technologies alone.
At a state level, various training services are available. Business Information Centres and Small Business Development Centres provide free or low-cost up-to-date training.
and the development of niche products and services. Reduce discriminatory access to finance, and improve information regarding financing opportunities.
and sector organisations, training institution and commercial training services. Continue to ensure open, competitive telecommunication markets that offer a range of interoperable technological options and network services (particularly broadband) of appropriate quality and price.
This is a crucial factor in developing non-OECD countries. Address security trust and confidence through broad policy frameworks, regulatory and self-regulatory tools, trustworthy technologies and affordable redress mechanisms.
Article 20 (2) of the Services Directive...67 4. 3. 2 Access to capital for SMES...
89 4. 6. 1 Delivery services in an e-commerce environment...89 4. 6. 2 Delivery problems...
90 4. 6. 3 Parcel and express delivery services under the Postal services Directive...91 4. 6. 4 Market trends and enhanced application of the EU postal legislation...
The"Single Market Act"1 identifies information society services, including e-commerce, as one of the measures which can boost economic growth
Information society services (ISS) or online services can contribute to achieving crucial policy objectives in a number of ways:
-Information society services are key to growth. Over the past decade, these new activities have generated jobs
and services for citizens and businesses located in isolated areas. -E-commerce can enhance the quality of life of vulnerable populations:
and allow them to have access to an extensive range of services and products not easily 1 Communication from the Commission to the European parliament, the Council, the Economic and Social Committee and the Committee of the Regions, Single Market Act,
Moreover, information society services and e-commerce can contribute to meeting the demographic challenge of an ageing European population.
Ten years after the adoption of the Directive on certain legal aspects of information society services, in particular electronic commerce, in the Internal Market (Directive on electronic commerce) 6, e-commerce is limited still to less than 4%of total European trade.
Towards more efficient and fairer retail services in the Internal Market for 2020.8 In addition, the Commission is using this Staff Working Document to present its evaluation of the implementation of the E-commerce Directive (hereafter:
"9 The analysis presented below covers information society services, defined as those services provided at a distance, electronically and at the request of a recipient of services against remuneration10,
and also the much wider domain of e-commerce transactions in goods and services. 11 Online retailing, online press, search engines, social networks, blogs, media streaming, online gambling and e-health
are included in our analysis. The main focus, 5 E g. Estia et Médiamétrie//Netratings pour la FEVAD, Etude de l'impact environnemental de l'achat sur internet et dans le commerce
society services, in particular electronic commerce, in the Internal Market (Directive on electronic commerce, hereafter ECD), OJ L 178/1, 17.07.2000;
of the Regions, Retail market monitoring report, Towards more efficient and fairer retail services in the internal market for 2020, COM (2010) 355, OJ C 84/19, 17.03.2011;
1) the level of development, both national and cross-border, of information society services;(2) issues concerning the application of Article 3 (4) by the Member States (administrative cooperation;(
5) the development of online press services;(6) the interpretation of the provisions concerning the liability of intermediary information society service providers;(
These services help to reduce the time spent on paperwork and increase activity online (reading newspapers, consulting bank accounts
"2. 2 The regulatory framework The E-commerce Directive (ECD) is the main legislative tool dealing with information society services.
Market clause aims to ensure the free movement of information society services between the Member States.
a. Each Member State must ensure that information society services provided by a service provider established on its territory comply with the national provisions applicable in the Member State in question which fall within the coordinated field (Article 3 (1) ECD;
for reasons falling within the coordinated field, restrict the freedom to provide information society services from another Member State (Article 3 (2) ECD).
The terms"information society services"and"coordinated field"are crucial for a proper understanding of the Internal Market
"information society services"is defined not in the ECD but in the Transparency Directive 98/38/EC as amended by Directive 98/48. 29 The basic definition of"information society services"covers any service normally provided, for remuneration, at a distance,
by electronic means and at the individual request of a recipient of services. 30 The definition of a"service
"and"normally provided for remuneration"derives from Article 57, first paragraph, of the TFEU31, as interpreted by the European Court of Justice (hereafter:
"32 However, certain telemedicine services may be covered because they are provided by definition in situations where the healthcare professional
which characterises information society services and sets them apart from other services that are sent without a request from the recipient being necessary.
or television broadcasting services. 34 29 Directive 98/34/EC of the European parliament and the Council of 22 june 1998 laying down a procedure for the provision of information in the field of technical standards and regulations, OJ
"Pay-per-view"services to watch movies at the times indicated on the 10 This is a broad definition spanning a variety of online activities.
but defines a"coordinated field"in the context of which the mechanism in Article 3 must allow information society services to be, in principle, subject to the law of the Member State in
which are applicable to information society service providers or information society services, regardless of whether the requirements are of a general nature
or in a programme guide are provided not services"at the individual request"of a recipient
and their services subject can guarantee the full effect of the free provision of those services.
directly and permanently accessible"to both recipients of services and the competent authorities"the details of the service provider, including its electronic e-mail address,
where information society services refer to prices, to provide a clear and unambiguous indication of the prices,
"The term"unsolicited"has posed particular problems in the context of"tell-a-friend"services. These popular services allow an internet user to enter the e-mail address of one
or more"friends"who then receive a standard message e g. inviting them to visit a particular website.
The Services Directive complements the rules on online commercial communications set out in the ECD. According to Article 24 (1) of Directive 2006/12352, Member States shall remove all total prohibitions on commercial communications by the regulated professions.
which is allowed not under Article 24 (1) of the Services Directive. 53 50 Directive 2005/29/EC of the European parliament
HTML As revised by Directive 2009/136/EC of the European parliament and of the Council of 25 november 2009.52 Directive 2006/123/EC of the European parliament and of the Council of 12 december 2006 on services in the internal market
Commission services do not have further reliable and detailed information on the practical application of the formation of contracts.
for three categories of services: mere conduit operators,"caching"providers and hosting services. The details of the application of this regime are discussed in Chapter 3. 4. 56 With the exception of the contract terms and conditions,
these transparency requirements do not apply to contracts concluded exclusively by e-mail or by equivalent individual communications. 57 The acknowledgement of receipt and the revision mechanism do not apply to contracts concluded exclusively by e-mail or by equivalent individual communications. 58 ECC-Net, Online Cross-border Mystery Shopping:
the Services Directive61 (2006) and the new Consumer Rights Directive62 (2011)( see Chapters 4. 2. 3 and 4. 4. 1). In the area of Intellectual Property rights,
PDF 61 Directive 2006/123/EC of the European parliament and of the Council of 12 december 2006 on services in the internal market, OJ L 376/36, 27.12.2006;
the prohibition of any commercial communications for regulated professions according to Article 24 Services Directive69 has supplemented the provision of Article 8 of the ECD (see Chapter 4. 2. 2)
The ban on discrimination in Article 20 Services Directive (see Chapter 4. 3. 1). Various new developments in the area of payment services (see Chapter 4. 5. 1
). New rules on the application of VAT to digital services (see Chapter 4. 8. 1). New rules on vertical distribution agreements (see Chapter 4. 3. 8. 2). Developments in private international law
The results of the public consultation and the analysis of the Commission services show that,
2006 on services in the internal market; OJ L 376/36, 27.12.2006; available at: http://eurlex. europa. eu/Lexuriserv/Lexuriserv. do?
the Commission services will increase their screening of the actual implementation and application of the ECD in the Member States (see Chapter 3. 2. 1). A conformity assessment will be carried out of the transposition in each of the 27 Member States,
which includes information society services, using the new NACE Rev. 2 classification on economic activities. However, it is not possible to directly measure the share of employment, GDP,
The information society services financed by advertising but provided for free on the Internet are even more difficult to assess.
This lack of information calls for a new framework for measuring the value of the Internet including services provided via the Internet.
The Commission services will, together with the E-commerce Expert Group, explore means of improving (public) statistics on electronic commerce and of developing tools to collect more detailed statistics about internet sales volumes. 3. 2 Need
three levels of administrative co-operation can be identified between Member States and the Commission services. 3. 2. 1 Transparency Directive 98/48/EC Directive 98/34/EC70,
PDF 20 services. The Directive is intended to help avoid the creation of new barriers to trade within the EU. The Directive requires Member States to notify their rules on information society services in draft form,
and generally observe a standstill period of at least three months before formal adoption, in order to allow other Member States
Where notified drafts are liable to create barriers to the free provision of information society services under primary or secondary EU law,
Member States do not always respect the obligation to notify draft laws on information society services under the Transparency Directive.
Commission services will remain vigilant to ensure that unlawful barriers to online services are detected at the earliest possible stage. 3. 2. 2 Case-by-case derogations of Article 3 (4) ECD Article 3 (4
In the last decade, the Commission services have received only 30 notifications, mainly dealing with measures to protect consumers.
A lack of awareness on the part of the administrative services of Member States may be a reason for the small number of measures adopted.
The Commission services will raise awareness about the obligation to notify draft measures. They will also explore with the Member States ways in which to strengthen administrative cooperation by integrating the notification systems under the ECD in the Internal Market Information (IMI) system. 3. 2. 3 Administrative cooperation under Article 19
andthe Commission services make presentations on both new and ongoing (legislative) initiatives relevant for the e-commerce sector.
Commission services consider the expert group a good forum for the exchange of views, experiences and best practices amongst the Member States and between them and the Commission.
Commission services will, together with the Member States, closely monitor the system of notifications and invite the expert group to reconsider
The use of the Internal Market Information system (IMI) for Article 19 ECD could also be explored. 3. 3 Need for better enforcement of the ECD Under the co-ordination of Commission services,
and is carried out on an annual basis. Commission services will continue coordinating and monitoring the sweep activities carried out by the CPC-Network.
Commission services are also supporting the online enforcement capacities of the CPC-Network through financing projects that aim to develop a common platform at EU-level of e-enforcers
when they provide one of the so-called intermediary services set out in Articles 12 to 14 of the Directive.
Moreover, Article 15 of the Directive prohibits Member States from imposing on providers of these services a general obligation to monitor content that they transmit or host.
The Directive provides for a technologically neutral framework and the liability regime strikes a balance between the several interests at stake, in particular between the development of intermediary services,
The main question is to what extent new services that have not been mentioned explicitly in these articles (e g
several new services and activities have emerged that the legislators could not have foreseen, such as video-sharing sites, selling platforms, social networks and peer-2-peer services.
in particular as regards their applicability to services that are mentioned not explicitly in those provisions, but that could
some Member States have provided for specific liability exemptions for information location services (search engine services) and hyperlinking services.
Despite the frequent literal transposition of Articles 12-14 ECD, divergent national case law has emerged particularly in regard to the application of liability exemptions to"new services"
location tool services and hyperlinking services. This has resulted in a degree of regulatory 85 Joined cases C-236/08 to C-238/08, Google vs.
Respondents to the e-commerce consultation called on the Commission to clarify the status of these new services in view of often contradictory national case law.
Where specific exemptions from liability for search engine services and hyperlinking services have not been included explicitly in national legislation
these services have either been classified as mere conduit services, caching services or hosting services, or courts have excluded them from the scope of any exemption.
For instance: in the UK case"TV Links"(R v Rock and Overton), 86 the court without further reasoning ruled that a hyperlinking website was a mere conduit activity that could benefit from the liability exemption
of Article 12 ECD; the Belgian court in the"Copiepresse"case (Copiepresse et al vs. Google Inc.)stated that the Directive was not relevant for the liability of a news search service
The Paris Commercial Court considered that ebay might not benefit from a liability exemption for its hosting activities. 92 The court considered that the sellers on ebay's website (recipients of ebay's services in terms of the E-commerce Directive) act under the authority
"In the L'oréal vs. ebay case93 the Paris Civil Court considered that ebay could offer its clients various services on the same site without losing the right to benefit from a liability exemption.
National jurisprudence on file sharing services also diverges. For instance The Italian Court of Cassation102 considered that Piratebay,
whether certain services can benefit from a liability exemption. First recital 42 mentions that an activity should be"of a mere technical, automatic and passive nature".
from paid internet referencing services (such as Google's"Adwords")."In parallel to this, L'oréal had identified several infringements of its trademarks through/by the selling platform ebay.
The AG claims to"have some difficulties"with the conclusion of the Court that recital 42 would contain conditions for all intermediary services for benefiting from a liability exemption
it is in the interest of all parties involved in the provision of information society services to adopt
For example, the Directive on the enforcement of intellectual property rights124 (Enforcement Directive) provides in its Articles 9 and 11 that Member States shall ensure that right holders are in a position to apply for an injunction against intermediaries whose services are being used by a third party to infringe intellectual property rights.
, high quality jobs and first class products and services in Europe, COM (2011) 287 24.05.2011; available at http://ec. europa. eu/internal market/copyright/docs/ipr strategy/COM 2011 287 EN. pdf. The Communication announces a review of the Enforcement Directive that should in particular find ways to combat infringements of IPR via the internet more effectively"by"tackling the infringements
The Commission services have been made aware of the following national laws (see Annex II of this Staff Working Document for a more detailed description:
The Finnish Act on provision of information society services (transposing the ECOMMERCE Directive) contains a detailed notice
and information society services (transposing the E-commerce Directive) provides for a notice -and-takedown for mere conduit and caching providers as regards infringements of intellectual property rights;
The Lithuanian law on information society services (transposing the E-commerce Directive) also provides for a notice
but in the form of offering attractive, accessible and legal services on the Internet. Moreover, some intermediaries, in particular video-sharing sites, argue that right holders should favour"monetisation"over takedown."
when providing the services covered by Articles 12,13 and 14, to monitor the information which they transmit or store,
It aims to avoid placing a disproportionate burden on intermediaries that would seriously restrict them in providing their intermediary services.
must be interpreted as precluding an injunction imposed on an ISP to introduce a system for filtering all electronic communications passing via its services,
starting with the willingness to engage in ecommerce and following through the process of gathering of information on products and services on offer,
the actual access to products and services, the issues surrounding the conclusion of a contract,
the payment and delivery of the products and services bought/sold, ending with redress if things go wrong.
the Commission services organised a workshop on"trust and confidence in the Internal Market"during the first Digital Agenda Assembly (June 2011).
buyers of goods and services provide often without much thought-their bank or credit card details when paying for their purchase.
in particular for behavioural advertising. 151 In situations where hosting services are requested to take down illegal material such as pirated
and provide for specific regime applicable to the processing of personal data carried out solely for freedom of expression purposes. 153 The ECD does not apply to questions relating to information society services covered by the EU legislation on the protection of personal data (Article 1
Spam can seriously harm the development of online services. Their costs do not only relate to the unnecessary use of broadband capacity or the purchase of expensive anti-virus software.
and users'rights relating to electronic communications networks and services, Directive 2002/58/EC concerning the processing of personal data and the protection of privacy in the electronic communications sector and Regulation (EC) No 2006/2004 on cooperation between national authorities responsible for the enforcement of consumer protection laws,
or processed in connection with the provision of publicly available electronic communications services or of public communications networks and amending Directive 2002/58/EC), OJ L 105/54, 13.04.2006;
Exceptions are foreseen in the context of already established customers for the direct marketing of its own similar products or services by the same provider.
"Commission services have issued a guidance document on the implementation of Article 5 (3) on cookies. 162 161 See http://www. enisa. europa. eu 162 DG INFSO/B2 Communications
"The Commission services understand this in their guidance document as follows: The user concerned must be informed163,
and/or notified the Commission the measures ensuring the full transposition of the new rules. 166 Some of the proposed national laws have already been criticised for being unworkable in practice. 167 Commission services will closely monitor the process of transposition of the new eprivacy Directive in those Member States
The development of the Internet and the increased supply of online gambling services are posing challenges for the co-existence of differing regulatory models,
http://ec. europa. eu/internal market/services/gambling en. htm 61 Member States prohibit the online sale of"over-the-counter"(OTC) medicines or medical devices.
but internet services can provide quick and easy access to medicines in particular for chronically ill people, less mobile citizens, the elderly, working people or inhabitants of rural areas.
Other EU initiatives also contribute to the realization of a safe and legally secure Internal Market for online health services.
the Commission Communication on the benefits of telemedicine for patients, healthcare systems and society, 178 aims at enabling the wider deployment of telemedicine services through building confidence, bringing legal clarity,
PDF 63 Working Paper on the applicability of the existing EU legal framework to telemedicine services in the first half of 2012.
181 Commission services will work closely with product testing and other organisations providing information on product quality comparisons/price/best value for money
and commercial blogs offer content and services to consumers for free, earning revenue by selling advertising space on their sites to businesses that intend to reach those customers.
Third, online enterprises such as travel planning sites sell both advertising space and their (own) services directly to consumers.
In this context, Article 24 (1) of the Services Directive requires Member States to remove total bans in so far as such bans concern a particular form of advertising such as advertising over the Internet. 184 It has also been reported that contractual prohibitions (e g. on data portability) complicate multi-platform advertising campaigns.
The Commission services will continue to monitor and analyse the national regulatory and contractual developments in the Member States
regulation or administrative action in Member States concerning the provision of audiovisual media services(‘Audiovisual Media Services Directive'),OJ 15.4.2010,
The restrictions and bans are applicable to linear and on-demand services. All audiovisual commercial communications (TV and on-demand) must be readily recognizable;
The Directive covers television, on-demand services and emerging advertising techniques. The question has been raised to what extent the commercial communications rules of the Audiovisual Media Services Directive also apply to new services such as the online social networks. 183 See recently for example the Ker-Optika judgment,
Case C-108/09. 184 See Case C-119/09, Société fiduciare nationale d'expertise comptable v Ministre du Budget, des Comptes publics
joint surveillance actions("sweeps")have been carried out on the basis of UCP provisions (websites selling airlines tickets, online mobile phone services, websites selling consumer electronic goods;
Article 20 (2) of the Services Directive There is a growing tendency for businesses to use the Internet to foster the sales of their goods
and services by exploiting the global availability of their websites. However, most online traders still serve a very limited number of Member States.
The most frequent cases concern web shops that either refuse to sell items or services to residents 187 http://ec. europa. eu/information society/eyouguide/navigation/index en. htm 188 European commission
or sell identical items or services at a (much) higher price due to the consumer's country of residence.
and the European Consumer Centres indicate that such practices exist for a wide range of services such as the sale of electronic goods,
Article 20 (2) of the Services Directive189 prohibits discrimination on grounds of nationality or residence in B2c and B2b relationships.
In accordance with Article 20 (2) of the Services Directive Member States have an obligation to ensure that the above-mentioned non-discrimination principle is implemented in their national legal orders.
Further to this implementation, it is for the competent national authorities to ensure that general conditions of access to a service made available to the public by online traders falling under the scope of the Services Directive comply with the national provisions implementing Article
20 (2) of the Services Directive. The application of these national provisions will require a case-by-case assessment of the possible"objective reasons"for the different treatment.
Recital 95 of the Services Directive gives examples of such objective circumstances. Additional costs may be justified because of the distance involved
Member States had to implement the Services Directive into their national legal orders by 28 december 2009.
a majority of Member States have implemented Article 20 (2) of the Services Directive through a provision in the horizontal law transposing the Services Directive.
when trying to buy services in other Member States. However, to the Commission's knowledge there have been very few cases of administrative application of the 189 Directive 2006/123/EC of the European parliament and of the Council of 12 december 2006 on services in the internal market, OJ L
376/36, 27.12.2006; available at: http://eurlex. europa. eu/Lexuriserv/Lexuriserv. do? uri=OJ: L: 2006: 376: 0036: 0068:
PDF 69 national provisions implementing Article 20 (2) of the Services Directive and as yet no instances of judicial application in any Member State190.
The Commission is currently assessing the completeness and correctness of the implementation of Article 20 (2) of the Services Directive.
Based on the outcome of this research, it will establish guidelines to assist national authorities on the proper application of the national provisions implementing Article 20 (2) Services Directive (adoption in 2012). 4. 3
On 7 december 2011, the Commission adopted an action plan on access to finance for SMES. 191 The action plan includes measures to facilitate the cross-border provision of venture capital services in view of the existing multitude of national regulatory regimes
However, the Commission services have received complaints from companies frustrated in their attempts to obtain TLDS
freedom to provide information society services). The Commission services will monitor the establishment requirements for obtaining TLDS
and their compatibility with the Internal Market freedoms and other applicable EU acquis. 4. 3. 4 Net neutrality Net neutrality is the principle according to
on the one hand, techniques like packet differentiation and IP routing guarantee a minimum quality to end-users for services that require a differentiated network speed (such as videoconferencing),
however, also be misused by internet providers to prevent access to information society services, in particular when they are competing with the services of the internet provider (such as telephony or television services).
This can be done either by blocking certain services outright or by making it very unattractive to access them,
usually by using a technique called"throttling"that degrades network quality. The Commission Communication on the open Internet and net neutrality in Europe193 reports several instances of blocking of legal services (in particular of Voice-over-Internet-Protocol services by mobile internet providers),
but stresses that more exhaustive evidence is needed before policy conclusions can be drawn at the European level.
and services that have a distinct characteristic independence from any physical medium. Music, films and books can be downloaded
Today, with the availability of adequate computer support for reading text, books have become services
the online content-related (legal) services are normally not available in all Member States and tend to concentrate in a limited number of Member States.
These services also tend to target specific territories and limit the possibility for consumers to use them across borders.
when they wish to provide cross-border digital content services which are protected copyright, resulting in their needing toenter into licence agreements outside their home country.
Case C-430/08, Football Association Premier League Ltd v QC Leisure and C-429/08, Karen Murphy v Media Protection Services Limited
Cross-border access to cultural goods and services, however, helps European citizens to better know
high quality jobs and first class products and services in Europe, COM (2011) 287 final, 24.05.2011, available at:
in order to overcome Digital Single Market barriers and stimulate the European audiovisual sector as regards issues such as video-on-demand (Vod) services and cross-border broadcast services (2012). 198
and measure progress under the auspices of the Commission services. The Commission is also working on a review of the IPR Enforcement Directive 2004/48/EC,
and publishers have over the use of their works on the Internet, in particular in view of the rise of news aggregation services.
Commission services will continue to examine these issues in the light of new legal and technical developments. 4. 3. 6 Grey markets In its application report on the implementation of Directive 98/84/EC (on the protection of conditional
access services) 205 the Commission noted that European citizens are restricted in their cross-border access to audiovisual services
whether this be on demand, Internet or satellite. The inadequacy of rules governing the provision of digital cultural goods,
on the legal protection of services based on, or consisting of, conditional access, COM (2008) 593 final, 30.09.2008;
It held that the practice of holders of intellectual property rights to forbid broadcasters from supplying cross-border services
the Commission services will publish a study on the economic potential of crossborder pay-to-view audiovisual media services. 4. 3. 7 Reuse of public information Public information can be defined as all the information
and currently untapped potential for reuse in new products and services and for efficiency gains in administrations.
This results in fragmentation in the internal information market for PSI based products and services.
QC Leisure and Karen Murphy v Media Protection Services Limited judgment of 4 october 2011, available at http://curia. europa. eu/juris/recherche. jsf?
Commission services closely monitor the information and internet sectors to ensure that market players comply with EU competition law.
Apple had made warranty repair services available only in the country where the iphone was bought, thereby potentially partitioning the Internal Market.
Stakeholders in the responses to the public consultation on the future of electronic commerce in the Internal Market and the implementation of the ECD also raised the issue of the provision of online press services being hampered allegedly by conditions set by certain"application platforms".
The Commission services will closely monitor the e-commerce and other digital sectors to ensure that market players comply with EU competition law 4. 4 Contracting 4. 4. 1 Contract law The E-commerce Directive contains basic provisions
but certain areas such as healthcare services, passenger transport and gambling will be excluded. The new rules of the Consumer Rights Directive will have to be transposed into national laws by 13 december 2013.
nor is it applicable to gambling and healthcare services. Furthermore, it allows Member States to impose linguistic requirements on consumer contracts.
The Commission services will closely monitor the transposition of the Consumer Rights Directive. They will also look into the most appropriate ways to ensure that businesses
-books or e-learning services. Problems include incomplete or incomprehensible information, interrupted access to content and faulty products.
and fairer retail services in the Internal Market for 2020"232 underlined the existence of unfair commercial practices throughout the retail supply chain.
PDF 232 Report from the Commission to the European parliament, the Council, the Economic and Social Committee and the Committee of Regions, Retail market monitoring report, Towards more efficient and fairer retail services in the internal market for 2020
In addition, certain anti-competitive or unfair practices may exist in the area of information society services beyond retailing, for example,
and prepare a report on standards for e-signatures. 233 Directive 2002/21/EC of the European parliament and the Council of 7 march 2002 on a common regulatory framework for electronic communications networks and services, OJ L
PDF 234 Directive 2009/140/EC of the European parliament and the Council of 25 november 2009 amending Directives 2002/21/EC on a common regulatory framework for electronic communications networks and services, 2002/19
and 2002/20/EC on the authorisation of electronic communications networks and services, OJ L 337/37, 18.12.2009;
It will also cover the cross-border functioning of certain other trusted services and provide legislation for the mutual recognition of electronic identification and authentication services.
The tools proposed in the framework should be general and open to all sectors, especially where electronic identification is concerned.
For micro-payments, the issue of cost seems to be a major obstacle to the development of low value information society services such as online newspapers, music, movies, video games,"premium rate service",directories,
which was left to the arbitration of Member States by the Payment Services Directive241, affects consumers who,
241 Directive 2007/64/EC of the European parliament and of the Council of 13 november 2007 on payment services in the internal market amending Directives 97/7/EC, 2002/65/EC,
2005/60/EC and 2006/48/EC and repealing Directive 97/5/EC, OJ L 319/1, 05.12.2007 (hereafter‘Payment Services Directive'),available at:
The Payment Services Directive243 (PSD) in its Articles 60 et sequ. addresses the liability for payments, especially in cases of unauthorized payment transactions,
and stipulates that the cost is borne by the providers of payment services. By contrast, the payer shall bear the losses,
which measures could best contribute to improvements in the above-mentioned four areas. 242 A separate issue is the blocking of payments by financial institutions for example in situations of alleged intellectual property rights infringements or online gambling. 243 Payment Services
The pricing of payment services is analysed from two angles, namely the relationship between the consumer and the merchant and the relationship between the merchant and the payment service provider.
Commission services will, together with the European multistakeholder forum, take action to encourage the maximum use of e-invoices exchange. 4. 6 Delivery Many surveys
especially its cross-border dimension. 247 4. 6. 1 Delivery services in an e-commerce environment With the exponential growth and use of electronic means of communication,
Enhancing the trust in delivery services to promote consumers'overall confidence in using the electronic-commerce services can contribute to its further growth.
This is especially the case when talking about parcel delivery and express delivery services, which have traditionally been open to competition. 248 The European parcel
(ii) better range of services and (iii) better quality and/or reliability of delivery services provided by alternative operators. 4. 6. 2 Delivery problems Delivery emerges from the various consultations and studies as one of the the major obstacles
to the development of electronic commerce253. 248 Green Paper on the development of the single market for postal services, COM (91) 476 final, 11.06.1992, available at http://ec. europa. eu
The responses to the consultation also indicated that the problems identified in delivery services are essentially (i) high costs,(mainly for cross-border trade), due to higher crossborder delivery prices in comparison to similar and/or equivalent domestic delivery
services,(ii) the refusal to supply in specific geographical areas (iii) the unreliability of the delivery service,
and express delivery services under the Postal services Directive The Postal services Directive256 addresses certain of these delivery issues indirectly firstly through the requirement of universal service provision with regard to basic letter mail (up to 2 kg),
http://ec. europa. eu/internal market/post/doc/legislation/2008-06 en. pdf 92 Although parcel and express delivery services have been open to competition for some decades257,
With regard to these regulatory measures, a distinction needs to be made between two types of services:(i)" basic"or"standard"parcel service which is part of the universal service obligation (USO),
and (ii) parcel delivery services with added value, which are not directly subject to USO, but are nonetheless subject to some other regulatory requirements (e g. obligation to handle consumer complaints).
The latter services are understood traditionally as comprising elements such as (i) the collection at the premises of the sender,
(ii) the handling of bulk parcels (parcels sent in larger quantities),(iii) track and trace services and (iv) express (faster) delivery and/or guaranteed delivery times.
Parcel delivery as part of the Universal Service Obligation (USO) Article 3 of the Postal services Directive obliges Member States to ensure the provision of basic parcel services at affordable prices for all citizens
All Member States ensure that basic parcel services in most cases meaning over-the-counter parcel services, 258 are guaranteed as part of the universal service obligation. 259 Article 3 (3) of the Postal services Directive enables Member States to implement derogations
from the minimum requirements for USO. This has to be granted by the independent national regulatory authority
thus on the basis of Article 3. Parcel services which are part of the USO do not,
however, in most cases comprise the additional added value elements as defined above. 261 These added value services are covered not by the USO requirements of Article 3. 257 See for example Chapter 4. 3. 3,
. ITA/WIK 2009.258 It is known that basic parcel services usually indicate services where customers hand in the parcel at the post office counter. 259
track and trace services and express (faster) delivery and/or time certain delivery. E g. as regards the delivery to home premises in some Member States parcels may not be delivered frequently to the addressee's residence,
additional services such as track and trace are provided often only by express and courier companies. 93 Postal users'protection measures Article 19 of the Postal services Directive obliges Member States to ensure the existence of complaint procedures for all postal users, particularly in cases
. While this provision is mandatory for the universal postal service and interchangeable services, many Member States go beyond this minimum
and extend the complaint mechanism to services outside the USO. 262 Although the Postal services Directive entrusted to Member States the task of organizing transparent complaint procedures,
guaranteed delivery times, improved operational performance, endtoend logistics services or track and trace services are offered increasingly as value-added delivery services.
and parcel services, especially in terms of the products offered. Parcel operators have improved their transit times and can hence compete with the lower end of express operators'services,
whilst express operators have introduced lower-cost products targeting customers less sensitive to delivery time. Furthermore, new business solutions such as parcel consolidators266 or online parcel brokers267 are being developed,
which facilitate the whole delivery process by providing customers with added value in the form of pre-delivery services (e g. presentation of available delivery alternatives and finding the best options in a given situation
delivery), which can subsequently be reflected in improved services, both in terms of the quality of service as well as pricing.
With regard to the efficient application of existing regulatory tools, Commission services are working on a number of initiatives. 265 Service provided by some delivery service operators,
and collection services and later on insert the collected parcels in postal delivery networks. 267 In contrast to parcel consolidators,
but only provide a sender with information on possible delivery options in a given situation. 95 The Commission services are conducting a sectoral study, with the help of an external consultant, regarding the cross-border provision of parcel delivery services,
with a specific focus on the alleged price differences between cross-border and domestic parcel services.
This will allow Commission services to better measure one of the issues mentioned in the consultation (high costs of delivery.
Commission services will prepare the Green Paper on parcel delivery as the final leg of e-commerce services,
In this regard, Commission services will envisaged, as by Article 22 of the Postal services Directive, further promote cooperation among national regulatory authorities both within the context of the European Regulators Group for Postal services (ERGP) and in relation to possible individual cases.
Commission services has organized the first Postal Users Forum for 12 december 2011.269 The forum encouraged users to reflect on their experience with postal delivery services
In 2012, Commission services will prepare a report on the application of the USO derogations by Member States with a view to identifying their scope,
with specific focus on basic parcel services, and their impact on the delivery of items that originated in e-commerce transactions.
Commission services will continue not only to monitor the developments on the quality of delivery services as well as consumer satisfaction
In summary, the Commission services will: 270 prepare a Green Paper on cross-border delivery,
publish a sectoral study regarding the cross-border provision of parcel delivery services (January 2012;
While e-commerce offers a wide range of services, and many facilities, its development is still being hampered severely
The Commission services will encourage the ECC-Net to take a more proactive and preventive approach towards key business sectors that have significant cross border exposure.
The principal objective of this legal instrument is to encourage recourse to mediation services in the Member States.
The Commission services will carefully monitor the transposition of the Mediation Directive in the Member States
Moreover, online legal services are underdeveloped and in many cases nonexistent. Simplified court procedures or"small claims procedures"exist in almost all Member States for national cases as a cost-efficient alternative to the traditional court procedures.
Commission services will conduct an assessment of the application of Regulation (EC) 861/2007 by 2013.
I with respect to services offered on the Internet. In the cases of Hotel Alpenhof and Peter Pammer302, the basic question at issue was whether the fact that the website of a business
The consumer found fault with the hotel's services and left without paying his bill.
for example when it offers its services or its goods in several Member States designated by name
For electronic services, there is currently a problem of distortion of competition within the EU . When these services are provided by an EU supplier to final consumers in the EU,
their place of taxation is the Member State where that supplier is established. Consequently, businesses can take advantage of this situation by establishing in those Member States applying a lower VAT rate.
The situation is different as regards electronic services provided by non-EU suppliers, given that the current rules already provide for VAT to be collected
Directive 2008/8/EC of 12 february 2008304 sets new rules regarding electronic services. As from 2015, electronic services provided by an EU supplier to a nontaxable person (e g final consumer) will also be taxable at the place where the customer is established.
If the customer is established outside the EU, no VAT will be due in the EU. As a result, after 2015,
all suppliers of electronic services will have the possibility to make use of the MOSS as from 2015.
This should facilitate the selling of electronic services throughout the EU. There remains the question of VAT rates.
%and currently varies between 15 and 25%of the value of goods or services, depending on the Member State of taxation. 303 Proposal for a Council Directive amending Directive 77/388/EEC with a view to simplifying value added tax obligations (COM (2004) 728 final, 29.10.2004.
of supply of services, OJ L 44/11, 20.02.2008; available at: http://eurlex. europa. eu/Lexuriserv/Lexuriserv. do?
and the online trade in goods and services. For example: There is an increasing demand for access to information on companies in a crossborder context,
such as the classification of e-commerce services or the development dimension of ecommerce. The Commission has also been involved in the discussions within the Internet Governance Forum (IGF) on issues such as the sustainability and security of the Internet.
European Neighbourhood Policy. 109 Commission services will further intensify the bilateral and multilateral discussions on ecommerce and other online services through global cooperation in particular in the context of the WTO/GATS, OECD and the Internet Governance
17/01/2002 1. Loi du 11 mars 2003 sur certains aspects juridiques des services de la sociétè de l'information visés
language=fr&la=F&cn=20 03031131&table name=loi 2. Loi sur certains aspects juridiques des services de la société de l'information
signatures électroniques, la directive relative à certains aspects juridiques des services de la société de l'information, certaines dispositions de
la directive 97/7/CEE concernant la vente à distance des biens et des services autres que les services financiers Reference:(
of which the Commission services have become aware. Characteri stics MS Finland France*Germany Hungary Lithuania UK Portugal Spain Sweden 1. Law Act on provision of information of information society services HADOPI Act
Access Impediment Act (repealed) ACT CVIII of 2001 on certain aspects of ecommerce services Law on information society services Terrorism act 2006/Digital economy Act 2010 Articles
14-18 Decree-Law 7/2004 Royal Decree on the functioning and operating of the IPR Commission Act on Responsibility of Electronic bulletin boards 2. Scope infringements Copyright Copyright Child pornography Intellectual property rights Copyright or"information
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