Platform economy: New EU rules and guidance for a fairer online economy apply from 12 July
The Commission publishes today (10 July) a set of resources to help traders, online platforms and search engines get the most out of the new Platform to Business rules, which apply from this Sunday, 12 July.
In addition, three progress reports prepared by the expert group for the Observatory on the Online Platform Economy are published for feedback.
The reports will inform the broader work of the Commission on online platforms and in particular on the upcoming Digital Services Act package.
Platform economy
The EU has adopted the first set of rules regulating the platform economy.
As of this coming Sunday, businesses and traders selling online via marketplaces will know which criteria will determine their position in search results, hotels using booking platforms will have greater clarity and protection from unfair terms and conditions, app developers will have a chance to challenge decisions by app stores that wish to remove their content.
The Commission will also publish official guidelines on ranking in the coming weeks.
These guidelines will help online platforms and search engines improve predictability and transparency to help businesses consider how best to increase and manage their online visibility.
Small businesses and other online operators
The Commission has prepared a Q&A document that can serve as a checklist for online platforms and search engines, particularly smaller ones, when implementing the new requirements.
It will help businesses get information on their new rights and the options available to resolve problems that may arise in their commercial relationships with online platforms.
It also contains useful information for online intermediation services, search engines and representative organisations or associations.
Furthermore, the Commission has produced a video to help online platforms and search engines assess whether the new rules apply to them.
An expert group
The Commission is closely following the developments in the online platform economy.
The expert group for the Observatory for the Online Platform Economy has supported the Commission in this task by helping to monitor the market and the effective implementation of the new rules.
The three progress reports point to imbalances in market power in the relationship between online platforms and their business users in terms of both access to and the use of data, as well as to discrimination as a potential source of issues in the online platform economy.
Stakeholders, including online platforms, the businesses relying on these online platforms, experts as well as enforcers are invited to provide feedback by 8 September.
