My favourites

Chapter III – Due diligence obligations for a transparent and safe online environment (Art. 11-48)

Art. 11 DSA - Points of contact for Member States’ authorities, the Commission and the Board arrow_right_alt

Art. 12 DSA - Points of contact for recipients of the service arrow_right_alt

Art. 13 DSA - Legal representatives arrow_right_alt

Art. 14 DSA - Terms and conditions arrow_right_alt

Art. 15 DSA - Transparency reporting obligations for providers of intermediary services arrow_right_alt

Art. 16 DSA - Notice and action mechanisms arrow_right_alt

Art. 17 DSA - Statement of reasons arrow_right_alt

Art. 18 DSA - Notification of suspicions of criminal offences arrow_right_alt

Art. 19 DSA - Exclusion for micro and small enterprises arrow_right_alt

Art. 20 DSA - Internal complaint-handling system arrow_right_alt

Art. 21 DSA - Out-of-court dispute settlement arrow_right_alt

Art. 22 DSA - Trusted flaggers arrow_right_alt

Art. 23 DSA - Measures and protection against misuse arrow_right_alt

Art. 24 DSA - Transparency reporting obligations for providers of online platforms arrow_right_alt

Art. 25 DSA - Online interface design and organisation arrow_right_alt

Art. 26 DSA - Advertising on online platforms arrow_right_alt

Art. 27 DSA - Recommender system transparency arrow_right_alt

Art. 28 DSA - Online protection of minors arrow_right_alt

Art. 29 DSA - Exclusion for micro and small enterprises arrow_right_alt

Art. 30 DSA - Traceability of traders arrow_right_alt

  1. Providers of online platforms allowing consumers to conclude distance contracts with traders shall ensure that traders can only use those online platforms to promote messages on or to offer products or services to consumers located in the Union if, prior to the use of their services for those purposes, they have obtained the following information, where applicable to the trader:
    1. the name, address, telephone number and email address of the trader;
    2. a copy of the identification document of the trader or any other electronic identification as defined by Article 3 of Regulation (EU) No 910/2014 of the European Parliament and of the Council (1);
    3. the payment account details of the trader;
    4. where the trader is registered in a trade register or similar public register, the trade register in which the trader is registered and its registration number or equivalent means of identification in that register;
    5. a self-certification by the trader committing to only offer products or services that comply with the applicable rules of Union law.
  2. Upon receiving the information referred to in paragraph 1 and prior to allowing the trader concerned to use its services, the provider of the online platform allowing consumers to conclude distance contracts with traders shall, through the use of any freely accessible official online database or online interface made available by a Member State or the Union or through requests to the trader to provide supporting documents from reliable sources, make best efforts to assess whether the information referred to in paragraph 1, points (a) to (e), is reliable and complete. For the purpose of this Regulation, traders shall be liable for the accuracy of the information provided.

As regards traders that are already using the services of providers of online platforms allowing consumers to conclude distance contracts with traders for the purposes referred to in paragraph 1 on 17 February 2024, the providers shall make best efforts to obtain the information listed from the traders concerned within 12 months. Where the traders concerned fail to provide the information within that period, the providers shall suspend the provision of their services to those traders until they have provided all information.

  1. Where the provider of the online platform allowing consumers to conclude distance contracts with traders obtains sufficient indications or has reason to believe that any item of information referred to in paragraph 1 obtained from the trader concerned is inaccurate, incomplete or not up-to-date, that provider shall request that the trader remedy that situation without delay or within the period set by Union and national law.

Where the trader fails to correct or complete that information, the provider of the online platform allowing consumers to conclude distance contracts with traders shall swiftly suspend the provision of its service to that trader in relation to the offering of products or services to consumers located in the Union until the request has been fully complied with.

  1. Without prejudice to Article 4 of Regulation (EU) 2019/1150, if a provider of an online platform allowing consumers to conclude distance contracts with traders refuses to allow a trader to use its service pursuant to paragraph 1, or suspends the provision of its service pursuant to paragraph 3 of this Article, the trader concerned shall have the right to lodge a complaint as provided for in Articles 20 and 21 of this Regulation.
  2. Providers of online platforms allowing consumers to conclude distance contracts with traders shall store the information obtained pursuant to paragraphs 1 and 2 in a secure manner for a period of six months after the end of the contractual relationship with the trader concerned. They shall subsequently delete the information.
  3. Without prejudice to paragraph 2 of this Article, the provider of the online platform allowing consumers to conclude distance contracts with traders shall only disclose the information to third parties where so required in accordance with the applicable law, including the orders referred to in Article 10 and any orders issued by Member States’ competent authorities or the Commission for the performance of their tasks under this Regulation.
  4. The provider of the online platform allowing consumers to conclude distance contracts with traders shall make the information referred to in paragraph 1, points (a), (d) and (e) available on its online platform to the recipients of the service in a clear, easily accessible and comprehensible manner. That information shall be available at least on the online platform’s online interface where the information on the product or service is presented.

(1) Regulation (EU, Euratom) 2018/1046 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 18 July 2018 on the financial rules applicable to the general budget of the Union, amending Regulations (EU) No 1296/2013, (EU) No 1301/2013, (EU) No 1303/2013, (EU) No 1304/2013, (EU) No 1309/2013, (EU) No 1316/2013, (EU) No 223/2014, (EU) No 283/2014, and Decision No 541/2014/EU and repealing Regulation (EU, Euratom) No 966/2012 (OJ L 193, 30.7.2018, p. 1).

Related
Close tabsclose
  • 72
  • 73

Recital 72

In order to contribute to a safe, trustworthy and transparent online environment for consumers, as well as for other interested parties such as competing traders and holders of intellectual property rights, and to deter traders from selling products or services in violation of the applicable rules, online platforms allowing consumers to conclude distance contracts with traders should ensure that such traders are traceable. The trader should therefore be required to provide certain essential information to the providers of online platforms allowing consumers to conclude distance contracts with traders, including for purposes of promoting messages on or offering products. That requirement should also be applicable to traders that promote messages on products or services on behalf of brands, based on underlying agreements. Those providers of online platforms should store all information in a secure manner for the duration of their contractual relationship with the trader and 6 months thereafter, to allow any claims to be filed against the trader or orders related to the trader to be complied with.

This obligation is necessary and proportionate, so that the information can be accessed, in accordance with the applicable law, including on the protection of personal data, by public authorities and private parties with a legitimate interest, including through the orders to provide information referred to in this Regulation. This obligation leaves unaffected potential obligations to preserve certain content for longer periods of time, on the basis of other Union law or national laws, in compliance with Union law. Without prejudice to the definition provided for in this Regulation, any trader, irrespective of whether it is a natural or legal person, identified on the basis of Article 6a(1), point (b), of Directive 2011/83/EU and Article 7(4), point (f), of Directive 2005/29/EC should be traceable when offering a product or service through an online platform. Directive 2000/31/EC obliges all information society services providers to render easily, directly and permanently accessible to the recipients of the service and competent authorities certain information allowing the identification of all providers. The traceability requirements for providers of online platforms allowing consumers to conclude distance contracts with traders set out in this Regulation do not affect the application of Council Directive (EU) 2021/514 (1), which pursues other legitimate public interest objectives.


(1) Council Directive (EU) 2021/514 of 22 March 2021 amending Directive 2011/16/EU on administrative cooperation in the field of taxation (OJ L 104, 25.3.2021, p. 1).

Recital 73

To ensure an efficient and adequate application of that obligation, without imposing any disproportionate burdens, providers of online platforms allowing consumers to conclude distance contracts with traders should make best efforts to assess the reliability of the information provided by the traders concerned, in particular by using freely available official online databases and online interfaces, such as national trade registers and the VAT Information Exchange System, or request the traders concerned to provide trustworthy supporting documents, such as copies of identity documents, certified payment accounts’ statements, company certificates and trade register certificates. They may also use other sources, available for use at a distance, which offer a similar degree of reliability for the purpose of complying with this obligation. However, the providers of online platforms concerned should not be required to engage in excessive or costly online fact-finding exercises or to carry out disproportionate verifications on the spot. Nor should such providers, which have made the best efforts required by this Regulation, be understood as guaranteeing the reliability of the information towards consumer or other interested parties.

Art. 31 DSA - Compliance by design arrow_right_alt

Art. 32 DSA - Right to information arrow_right_alt

Art. 33 DSA - Very large online platforms and very large online search engines arrow_right_alt

Art. 34 DSA - Risk assessment arrow_right_alt

Art. 35 DSA - Mitigation of risks arrow_right_alt

Art. 36 DSA - Crisis response mechanism arrow_right_alt

Art. 37 DSA - Independent audit arrow_right_alt

Art. 38 DSA - Recommender systems arrow_right_alt

Art. 39 DSA - Additional online advertising transparency arrow_right_alt

Art. 40 DSA - Data access and scrutiny arrow_right_alt

Art. 41 DSA - Compliance function arrow_right_alt

Art. 42 DSA - Transparency reporting obligations arrow_right_alt

Art. 43 DSA - Supervisory fee arrow_right_alt

Art. 44 DSA - Standards arrow_right_alt

Art. 45 DSA - Codes of conduct arrow_right_alt

Art. 46 DSA - Codes of conduct for online advertising arrow_right_alt

Art. 47 DSA - Codes of conduct for accessibility arrow_right_alt

Art. 48 DSA - Crisis protocols arrow_right_alt