What changed, Directive 2000/31/EC

+ ## CHAPTER I — GENERAL PROVISIONS
+ 
+ ### Article 1 — Objective and scope
+ 
+ **1.** This Directive seeks to contribute to the proper functioning of the internal market by ensuring the free movement of information society services between the Member States.
+ 
+ **2.** This Directive approximates, to the extent necessary for the achievement of the objective set out in paragraph 1, certain national provisions on information society services relating to the internal market, the establishment of service providers, commercial communications, electronic contract…
+ 
+ **3.** This Directive complements Community law applicable to information society services without prejudice to the level of protection for, in particular, public health and consumer interests, as established by Community acts and national legislation implementing them in so far as this does not res…
+ 
+ **4.** This Directive does not establish additional rules on private international law nor does it deal with the jurisdiction of Courts.
+ 
+ **5.** This Directive shall not apply to:(a) the field of taxation;(b) questions relating to information society services covered by Directives 95/46/EC and 97/66/EC;(c) questions relating to agreements or practices governed by cartel law;(d) the following activities of information society services:…
+ 
+ **6.** This Directive does not affect measures taken at Community or national level, in the respect of Community law, in order to promote cultural and linguistic diversity and to ensure the defence of pluralism.
+ 
+ ### Article 2 — Definitions
+ 
+ For the purpose of this Directive, the following terms shall bear the following meanings:
+ 
+ | (a) | ‘information society services’ : services within the meaning of Article 1(2) of Directive 98/34/EC as amended by Directive 98/48/EC; |
+ | --- | --- |
+ 
+ | (b) | ‘service provider’ : any natural or legal person providing an information society service; |
+ | --- | --- |
+ 
+ | (c) | ‘established service provider’ : a service provider who effectively pursues an economic activity using a fixed establishment for an indefinite period. The presence and use of the technical means and technologies required to provide the service do not, in themselves, constitute an establishme…
+ | --- | --- |
+ 
+ | (d) | ‘recipient of the service’ : any natural or legal person who, for professional ends or otherwise, uses an information society service, in particular for the purposes of seeking information or making it accessible; |
+ | --- | --- |
+ 
+ | (e) | ‘consumer’ : any natural person who is acting for purposes which are outside his or her trade, business or profession; |
+ | --- | --- |
+ 
+ | (f) | ‘commercial communication’ : any form of communication designed to promote, directly or indirectly, the goods, services or image of a company, organisation or person pursuing a commercial, industrial or craft activity or exercising a regulated profession. The following do not in themselves c…
+ | --- | --- |
+ 
+ | (g) | ‘regulated profession’ : any profession within the meaning of either Article 1(d) of Council Directive 89/48/EEC of 21 December 1988 on a general system for the recognition of higher-education diplomas awarded on completion of professional education and training of at least three-years' dura…
+ | --- | --- |
+ 
+ | (h) | ‘coordinated field’ : requirements laid down in Member States' legal systems applicable to information society service providers or information society services, regardless of whether they are of a general nature or specifically designed for them.(i) The coordinated field concerns requiremen…
+ | --- | --- |
+ 
+ ### Article 3 — Internal market
+ 
+ **1.** Each Member State shall ensure that the 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.
+ 
+ **2.** Member States may not, for reasons falling within the coordinated field, restrict the freedom to provide information society services from another Member State.
+ 
+ **3.** Paragraphs 1 and 2 shall not apply to the fields referred to in the Annex.
+ 
+ **4.** Member States may take measures to derogate from paragraph 2 in respect of a given information society service if the following conditions are fulfilled:(a) the measures shall be:(i) necessary for one of the following reasons:— public policy, in particular the prevention, investigation, detec…
+ 
+ **5.** Member States may, in the case of urgency, derogate from the conditions stipulated in paragraph 4(b). Where this is the case, the measures shall be notified in the shortest possible time to the Commission and to the Member State referred to in paragraph 1, indicating the reasons for which the…
+ 
+ **6.** Without prejudice to the Member State's possibility of proceeding with the measures in question, the Commission shall examine the compatibility of the notified measures with Community law in the shortest possible time; where it comes to the conclusion that the measure is incompatible with Com…
+ 
+ ## CHAPTER II — PRINCIPLES / Section 1: — Establishment and information requirements
+ 
+ ### Article 4 — Principle excluding prior authorisation
+ 
+ **1.** 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.
+ 
+ **2.** Paragraph 1 shall be without prejudice to authorisation schemes which are not specifically and exclusively targeted at information society services, or which are covered by Directive 97/13/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 10 April 1997 on a common framework for general auth…
+ 
+ ### Article 5 — General information to be provided
+ 
+ **1.** In addition to other information requirements established by Community law, Member States shall ensure that the service provider shall render easily, directly and permanently accessible to the recipients of the service and competent authorities, at least the following information:(a) the name…
+ 
+ **2.** In addition to other information requirements established by Community law, Member States shall at least ensure that, where information society services refer to prices, these are to be indicated clearly and unambiguously and, in particular, must indicate whether they are inclusive of tax and…
+ 
+ ## CHAPTER II — PRINCIPLES / Section 2: — Commercial communications
+ 
+ ### Article 6 — Information to be provided
+ 
+ In addition to other information requirements established by Community law, Member States shall ensure that commercial communications which are part of, or constitute, an information society service comply at least with the following conditions:
+ 
+ (a) the commercial communication shall be clearly identifiable as such;
+ 
+ (b) the natural or legal person on whose behalf the commercial communication is made shall be clearly identifiable;
+ 
+ (c) promotional offers, such as discounts, premiums and gifts, where permitted in the Member State where the service provider is established, shall be clearly identifiable as such, and the conditions which are to be met to qualify for them shall be easily accessible and be presented clearly and unam…
+ 
+ (d) promotional competitions or games, where permitted in the Member State where the service provider is established, shall be clearly identifiable as such, and the conditions for participation shall be easily accessible and be presented clearly and unambiguously.
+ 
+ ### Article 7 — Unsolicited commercial communication
+ 
+ **1.** In addition to other requirements established by Community law, Member States which permit unsolicited commercial communication by electronic mail shall ensure that such commercial communication by a service provider established in their territory shall be identifiable clearly and unambiguous…
+ 
+ **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 re…
+ 
+ ### Article 8 — Regulated professions
+ 
+ **1.** Member States shall ensure that the use of commercial communications which are part of, or constitute, an information society service provided by a member of a regulated profession is permitted subject to compliance with the professional rules regarding, in particular, the independence, digni…
+ 
+ **2.** Without prejudice to the autonomy of professional bodies and associations, Member States and the Commission shall encourage professional associations and bodies to establish codes of conduct at Community level in order to determine the types of information that can be given for the purposes o…
+ 
+ **3.** When drawing up proposals for Community initiatives which may become necessary to ensure the proper functioning of the Internal Market with regard to the information referred to in paragraph 2, the Commission shall take due account of codes of conduct applicable at Community level and shall a…
+ 
+ **4.** This Directive shall apply in addition to Community Directives concerning access to, and the exercise of, activities of the regulated professions.
+ 
+ ## CHAPTER II — PRINCIPLES / Section 3: — Contracts concluded by electronic means
+ 
+ ### Article 9 — Treatment of contracts
+ 
+ **1.** Member States shall ensure that their legal system allows contracts to be concluded by electronic means. Member States shall in particular ensure that the legal requirements applicable to the contractual process neither create obstacles for the use of electronic contracts nor result in such c…
+ 
+ **2.** Member States may lay down that paragraph 1 shall not apply to all or certain contracts falling into one of the following categories:(a) contracts that create or transfer rights in real estate, except for rental rights;(b) contracts requiring by law the involvement of courts, public authoriti…
+ 
+ **3.** Member States shall indicate to the Commission the categories referred to in paragraph 2 to which they do not apply paragraph 1. Member States shall submit to the Commission every five years a report on the application of paragraph 2 explaining the reasons why they consider it necessary to ma…
+ 
+ ### Article 10 — Information to be provided
+ 
+ **1.** In addition to other information requirements established by Community law, Member States shall ensure, except when otherwise agreed by parties who are not consumers, that at least the following information is given by the service provider clearly, comprehensibly and unambiguously and prior t…
+ 
+ **2.** Member States shall ensure that, except when otherwise agreed by parties who are not consumers, the service provider indicates any relevant codes of conduct to which he subscribes and information on how those codes can be consulted electronically.
+ 
+ **3.** Contract terms and general conditions provided to the recipient must be made available in a way that allows him to store and reproduce them.
+ 
+ **4.** Paragraphs 1 and 2 shall not apply to contracts concluded exclusively by exchange of electronic mail or by equivalent individual communications.
+ 
+ ### Article 11 — Placing of the order
+ 
+ **1.** Member States shall ensure, except when otherwise agreed by parties who are not consumers, that in cases where the recipient of the service places his order through technological means, the following principles apply:— the service provider has to acknowledge the receipt of the recipient's ord…
+ 
+ **2.** Member States shall ensure that, except when otherwise agreed by parties who are not consumers, the service provider makes available to the recipient of the service appropriate, effective and accessible technical means allowing him to identify and correct input errors, prior to the placing of…
+ 
+ **3.** Paragraph 1, first indent, and paragraph 2 shall not apply to contracts concluded exclusively by exchange of electronic mail or by equivalent individual communications.
+ 
+ ## CHAPTER III — IMPLEMENTATION
+ 
+ ### Article 16 — Codes of conduct
+ 
+ **1.** Member States and the Commission shall encourage:(a) the drawing up of codes of conduct at Community level, by trade, professional and consumer associations or organisations, designed to contribute to the proper implementation of Articles 5 to 15;(b) the voluntary transmission of draft codes …
+ 
+ **2.** Member States and the Commission shall encourage the involvement of associations or organisations representing consumers in the drafting and implementation of codes of conduct affecting their interests and drawn up in accordance with paragraph 1(a). Where appropriate, to take account of their…
+ 
+ ### Article 17 — Out-of-court dispute settlement
+ 
+ **1.** Member States shall ensure that, in the event of disagreement between an information society service provider and the recipient of the service, their legislation does not hamper the use of out-of-court schemes, available under national law, for dispute settlement, including appropriate electr…
+ 
+ **2.** Member States shall encourage bodies responsible for the out-of-court settlement of, in particular, consumer disputes to operate in a way which provides adequate procedural guarantees for the parties concerned.
+ 
+ **3.** Member States shall encourage bodies responsible for out-of-court dispute settlement to inform the Commission of the significant decisions they take regarding information society services and to transmit any other information on the practices, usages or customs relating to electronic commerce…
+ 
+ ### Article 18 — Court actions
+ 
+ **1.** Member States shall ensure that court actions available under national law concerning information society services' activities allow for the rapid adoption of measures, including interim measures, designed to terminate any alleged infringement and to prevent any further impairment of the inte…
+ 
+ **2.** The Annex to Directive 98/27/EC shall be supplemented as follows:‘11. Directive 2000/31/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 8 June 2000 on certain legal aspects on information society services, in particular electronic commerce, in the internal market (Directive on electronic …
+ 
+ ### Article 19 — Cooperation
+ 
+ **1.** 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.** Member States shall cooperate with other Member States; they shall, to that end, appoint one or several contact points, whose details they shall communicate to the other Member States and to the Commission.
+ 
+ **3.** Member States shall, as quickly as possible, and in conformity with national law, provide the assistance and information requested by other Member States or by the Commission, including by appropriate electronic means.
+ 
+ **4.** Member States shall establish contact points which shall be accessible at least by electronic means and from which recipients and service providers may:(a) obtain general information on contractual rights and obligations as well as on the complaint and redress mechanisms available in the even…
+ 
+ **5.** Member States shall encourage the communication to the Commission of any significant administrative or judicial decisions taken in their territory regarding disputes relating to information society services and practices, usages and customs relating to electronic commerce. The Commission shal…
+ 
+ ### Article 20 — Sanctions
+ 
+ Member States shall determine the sanctions applicable to infringements of national provisions adopted pursuant to this Directive and shall take all measures necessary to ensure that they are enforced. The sanctions they provide for shall be effective, proportionate and dissuasive.
+ 
+ ## CHAPTER IV — FINAL PROVISIONS
+ 
+ ### Article 21 — Re-examination
+ 
+ **1.** Before 17 July 2003, and thereafter every two years, the Commission shall submit to the European Parliament, the Council and the Economic and Social Committee a report on the application of this Directive, accompanied, where necessary, by proposals for adapting it to legal, technical and econ…
+ 
+ **2.** In examining the need for an adaptation of this Directive, the report shall in particular analyse the need for proposals concerning the liability of providers of hyperlinks and location tool services, 'notice and take down' procedures and the attribution of liability following the taking down…
+ 
+ ### Article 22 — Transposition
+ 
+ **1.** Member States shall bring into force the laws, regulations and administrative provisions necessary to comply with this Directive before 17 January 2002. They shall forthwith inform the Commission thereof.
+ 
+ **2.** 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. The methods of making such reference shall be laid down by Member States.
+ 
+ ### Article 23 — Entry into force
+ 
+ This Directive shall enter into force on the day of its publication in the Official Journal of the European Communities.
+ 
+ ### Article 24 — Addressees
− ### document
+ This Directive is addressed to the Member States.
− Avis juridique important | 32000L0031 Directive 2000/31/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 8 June 2000 on certain legal aspects of information society services, in particular electronic commerce, in the Internal Market ('Directive on electronic commerce') Official Journal L 178 , 17…