Liability of online auction site administrators

2.4.2008

WRITTEN QUESTION E-2038/08
by Janelly Fourtou (ALDE)
to the Commission

Under Article 14 of Directive 2000/31/EC[1] of 8 June 2000 on electronic commerce,

‘1. Where an information society service is provided that consists of the storage of information provided by a recipient of the service, Member States shall ensure that the service provider is not liable for the information stored at the request of a recipient of the service, on condition that:

(a) 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

(b) the provider, upon obtaining such knowledge or awareness, acts expeditiously to remove or to disable access to the information.

2. Paragraph 1 shall not apply when the recipient of the service is acting under the authority or the control of the provider’.

This provision is currently invoked in particular by online auction service administrators who avail themselves of the immunity from liability it offers for all the online services they provide.

In view of the differences between Member States regarding the interpretation of this provision, upon which the Court of Justice of the European Communities has yet to issue a ruling, is the Commission in a position to offer an interpretation of this text that it seeks to defend, in the knowledge that the second report on the application of the directive has yet to appear and the first did not mention this issue?

• [1] OJ L 178, 17.7.2000, p. 1.

OJ C 40, 18/02/2009