(62) Cooperation with third countries should be strengthened in the area of electronic commerce, in particular with applicant countries, the developing countries and the European Union's other trading partners. (21) OJ L 204, 21.7.1998, p. 37. These are the sources and citations used to research E-commerce. It aims to remove obstacles to cross-border online services. Directive as last amended by Directive 97/9/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council (OJ L 84, 26.3.1997, p. 22). [24], Finally, in order to benefit from the liability exemption under Article 14 of the e-Commerce Directive, upon obtaining actual knowledge hosting services are required to act expeditiously against the notified illegal content. Directive as last amended by Directive 98/7/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council (OJ L 101, 1.4.1998, p. (64) Electronic communication offers the Member States an excellent means of providing public services in the cultural, educational and linguistic fields. (12) It is necessary to exclude certain activities from the scope of this Directive, on the grounds that the freedom to provide services in these fields cannot, at this stage, be guaranteed under the Treaty or existing secondary legislation; excluding these activities does not preclude any instruments which might prove necessary for the proper functioning of the internal market; taxation, particularly value added tax imposed on a large number of the services covered by this Directive, must be excluded form the scope of this Directive. Health and Human Services Commission or HHSC means the administrative agency established under Chapter 531, Texas Government Code, or its designee. 2. Its aim is to remove obstacles to cross-border online services in the EU internal market and provide legal certainty for businesses and consumers. (13) OJ L 280, 29.10.1994, p. Latest Available (revised):The latest available updated version of the legislation incorporating changes made by subsequent legislation and applied by our editorial team. (27) This Directive, together with the future Directive of the European Parliament and of the Council concerning the distance marketing of consumer financial services, contributes to the creating of a legal framework for the on-line provision of financial services; this Directive does not pre-empt future initiatives in the area of financial services in particular with regard to the harmonisation of rules of conduct in this field; the possibility for Member States, established in this Directive, under certain circumstances of restricting the freedom to provide information society services in order to protect consumers also covers measures in the area of financial services in particular measures aiming at protecting investors. 2. (11) This Directive is without prejudice to the level of protection for, in particular, public health and consumer interests, as established by Community acts; amongst others, Council Directive 93/13/EEC of 5 April 1993 on unfair terms in consumer contracts(5) and Directive 97/7/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 20 May 1997 on the protection of consumers in respect of distance contracts(6) form a vital element for protecting consumers in contractual matters; those Directives also apply in their entirety to information society services; that same Community acquis, which is fully applicable to information society services, also embraces in particular Council Directive 84/450/EEC of 10 September 1984 concerning misleading and comparative advertising(7), Council Directive 87/102/EEC of 22 December 1986 for the approximation of the laws, regulations and administrative provisions of the Member States concerning consumer credit(8), Council Directive 93/22/EEC of 10 May 1993 on investment services in the securities field(9), Council Directive 90/314/EEC of 13 June 1990 on package travel, package holidays and package tours(10), Directive 98/6/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 16 February 1998 on consumer production in the indication of prices of products offered to consumers(11), Council Directive 92/59/EEC of 29 June 1992 on general product safety(12), Directive 94/47/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 26 October 1994 on the protection of purchasers in respect of certain aspects on contracts relating to the purchase of the right to use immovable properties on a timeshare basis(13), Directive 98/27/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 19 May 1998 on injunctions for the protection of consumers' interests(14), Council Directive 85/374/EEC of 25 July 1985 on the approximation of the laws, regulations and administrative provisions concerning liability for defective products(15), Directive 1999/44/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 25 May 1999 on certain aspects of the sale of consumer goods and associated guarantees(16), the future Directive of the European Parliament and of the Council concerning the distance marketing of consumer financial services and Council Directive 92/28/EEC of 31 March 1992 on the advertising of medicinal products(17); this Directive should be without prejudice to Directive 98/43/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 6 July 1998 on the approximation of the laws, regulations and administrative provisions of the Member States relating to the advertising and sponsorship of tobacco products(18) adopted within the framework of the internal market, or to directives on the protection of public health; this Directive complements information requirements established by the abovementioned Directives and in particular Directive 97/7/EC. (42) The exemptions from liability established in this Directive cover only cases where the activity of the information society service provider is limited to the technical process of operating and giving access to a communication network over which information made available by third parties is transmitted or temporarily stored, for the sole purpose of making the transmission more efficient; this activity is of a mere technical, automatic and passive nature, which implies that the information society service provider has neither knowledge of nor control over the information which is transmitted or stored. 2. Without prejudice to Directive 97/7/EC and Directive 97/66/EC, Member States shall take measures to ensure that service providers undertaking unsolicited commercial communications by electronic mail consult regularly and respect the opt-out registers in which natural persons not wishing to receive such commercial communications can register themselves.Article 8Regulated professions1. 17). Member States may, in the case of urgency, derogate from the conditions stipulated in paragraph 4(b). [25][30], The prohibition only applies to monitoring of a general nature, monitoring obligations in specific cases and orders by national authorities in accordance with national legislation are allowed. When Member States adopt the measures referred to in paragraph 1, these shall contain a reference to this Directive or shall be accompanied by such reference at the time of their official publication. Append an asterisk (, Other sites managed by the Publications Office, Information technology, telecommunications and data-processing, The fifteen Member States: Belgium, Denmark, Germany, Ireland, Greece, Spain, France, Italy, Luxembourg, Netherlands, Austria, Portugal, Finland, Sweden, United Kingdom, Treaty establishing the European Community, Select all documents based on this document, Select all legislative procedures based on this document, Select all documents mentioning this document, Display the Official Journal containing the document, Portal of the Publications Office of the EU, article 2 point (a) Preliminary question submitted by, article 3 paragraph 2 Preliminary question submitted by, article 3 paragraph 4 Preliminary question submitted by, article 12 Preliminary question submitted by, article 13 Preliminary question submitted by, article 14 Preliminary question submitted by, article 14 paragraph 1 point (a) Preliminary question submitted by, article 15 paragraph 1 Preliminary question submitted by, article 8 Preliminary question submitted by, article 3 Preliminary question submitted by, article 14 paragraph 1 Preliminary question submitted by, article 4 Preliminary question submitted by, article 14 paragraph 3 Preliminary question submitted by, article 12 paragraph 3 Preliminary question submitted by, article 13 paragraph 2 Preliminary question submitted by, article 11 Preliminary question submitted by, article 1 paragraph 5 point (a) Preliminary question submitted by, article 15 paragraph 2 Preliminary question submitted by, article 15 Preliminary question submitted by, article 3 paragraph 4 point (a) point (ii) Preliminary question submitted by, article 3 paragraph 5 Preliminary question submitted by. (23) OJ L 15, 21.1.1998, p. 83. Don't forget to give your feedback! Non- EU firms are now required to pay tax on e-commerce transactions digitally delivered into Europe. Strong promotion of online trade through adoption of the Distance Selling Directive 97/7/EC and the E-Commerce Directive 2001/31/EC has operated to the detriment of local business in the cities. entertainment services and basic intermediary services,includingservices provided free of charge to the recipient, such as thosefunded by advertising, to enhance and facilitate administrative co-operation between Member States, and Member States and the Commission, to discuss problems in the application of the Directive. (61) If the market is actually to operate by electronic means in the context of globalisation, the European Union and the major non-European areas need to consult each other with a view to making laws and procedures compatible. Free PDF & interactive e-magazines. 3. (50) It is important that the proposed directive on the harmonisation of certain aspects of copyright and related rights in the information society and this Directive come into force within a similar time scale with a view to establishing a clear framework of rules relevant to the issue of liability of intermediaries for copyright and relating rights infringements at Community level. The VAT on E-Commerce Directive makes two substantive changes to the taxation of digitally delivered e-commerce transactions. Adopted nearly 20 years ago, the E-Commerce Directive sets up liability exemptions for hosting companies for content that users share on their networks. The European Commission breaks down online barriers so that people can enjoy full access to all goods and services offered online by businesses in the EU. the provider does not have actual knowledge of illegal activity or information and, as regards claims for damages, is not aware of facts or circumstances from which the illegal activity or information is apparent; or. Directive as amended by Directive 98/48/EC (OJ L 217, 5.8.1998, p. 18). In this void, the Court of Justice has been left to determine on a case-by-case basis what type of services constitute hosting providers. Directive as last amended by Directive 95/26/EC (OJ L 168, 18.7.1995, p. 7). - requirements applicable to the delivery of goods. (65) The Council, in its resolution of 19 January 1999 on the consumer dimension of the information society(25), stressed that the protection of consumers deserved special attention in this field; the Commission will examine the degree to which existing consumer protection rules provide insufficient protection in the context of the information society and will identify, where necessary, the deficiencies of this legislation and those issues which could require additional measures; if need be, the Commission should make specific additional proposals to resolve such deficiencies that will thereby have been identified,HAVE ADOPTED THIS DIRECTIVE:CHAPTER IGENERAL PROVISIONSArticle 1Objective and scope1. 2. This Directive shall apply in addition to Community Directives concerning access to, and the exercise of, activities of the regulated professions. This important new book addresses the key pieces of EU legislation in the field of e-commerce, including the E-Commerce Directive, the Services Directive, the Consumer Directive, the General Data Protection Regulation, and the eID Regulation. Do Platforms Have to Screen All Uploaded Content? This even includes Article 14, 21 and 22 . The Department of Trade and Industry has already . Member States shall have adequate means of supervision and investigation necessary to implement this Directive effectively and shall ensure that service providers supply them with the requisite information.2. 7). Latest magazines. On 4 May 2000 the European Parliament approved the Electronic Commerce Directive, followed by the European Parliament without amendment on 28 February, perhaps persuaded that speed was imperative. (38) Member States' obligation to remove obstacles to the use of electronic contracts is to be implemented in conformity with legal requirements for contracts enshrined in Community law. Publication in the Official Journal followed on 17 June, and member states must implement the Directive into national law before 17 January 2002. The e-Commerce Directive applies to information society services established in the EU. (47) Member States are prevented from imposing a monitoring obligation on service providers only with respect to obligations of a general nature; this does not concern monitoring obligations in a specific case and, in particular, does not affect orders by national authorities in accordance with national legislation. (59) Despite the global nature of electronic communications, coordination of national regulatory measures at European Union level is necessary in order to avoid fragmentation of the internal market, and for the establishment of an appropriate European regulatory framework; such coordination should also contribute to the establishment of a common and strong negotiating position in international forums. 31. (5) The development of information society services within the Community is hampered by a number of legal obstacles to the proper functioning of the internal market which make less attractive the exercise of the freedom of establishment and the freedom to provide services; these obstacles arise from divergences in legislation and from the legal uncertainty as to which national rules apply to such services; in the absence of coordination and adjustment of legislation in the relevant areas, obstacles might be justified in the light of the case-law of the Court of Justice of the European Communities; legal uncertainty exists with regard to the extent to which Member States may control services originating from another Member State. (45) The limitations of the liability of intermediary service providers established in this Directive do not affect the possibility of injunctions of different kinds; such injunctions can in particular consist of orders by courts or administrative authorities requiring the termination or prevention of any infringement, including the removal of illegal information or the disabling of access to it. 1.Copyright, neighbouring rights, rights referred to in Directive 87/54/EEC and 2.The freedom of the parties to a contract to choose 3.Contractual obligations concerning consumer contracts. 12). THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT AND THE COUNCIL OF THE EUROPEAN UNION. Where appropriate, to take account of their specific needs, associations representing the visually impaired and disabled should be consulted.Article 17Out-of-court dispute settlement1. - the order and the acknowledgement of receipt are deemed to be received when the parties to whom they are addressed are able to access them. The Draft called 'Electronic Commerce Act' (dated 1 December 2000) mainly provides for changes and amendments to the German Teleservices Act from 1997. 1). (6) In the light of Community objectives, of Articles 43 and 49 of the Treaty and of secondary Community law, these obstacles should be eliminated by coordinating certain national laws and by clarifying certain legal concepts at Community level to the extent necessary for the proper functioning of the internal market; by dealing only with certain specific matters which give rise to problems for the internal market, this Directive is fully consistent with the need to respect the principle of subsidiarity as set out in Article 5 of the Treaty. Member States shall ensure that the taking up and pursuit of the activity of an information society service provider may not be made subject to prior authorisation or any other requirement having equivalent effect. (17) OJ L 113, 30.4.1992, p. So what effect will this directive have on e-commerce businesses? 3. (3) Not yet published in the Official Journal. If the next citation is to the same piece of legislation, simply put 'ibid' with a . Directive as last amended by Directive 1999/85/EC (OJ L 277, 28.10.1999, p. 34).