Directive 2000/31/EC on certain legal aspects of information society services, in particular electronic commerce, in the Internal Market

Summary:

Directive 2000/31/EC - adopted by the European Union on 8 June 2000 - establishing standard rules in the European Union on various issues related to electronic commerce (also known as Directive on electronic commerce).

Further information:

The Directive establishes the principle that operators of these services are subject to regulation (related to the taking up and pursuit of the services) only in the Member State where they have their registered headquarters - not in the country where the servers, email addresses or postboxes they use are located. National governments must ensure that operators publish basic information on their activities in a permanent and easily accessible form.

Online services covered by the Directive include:

• News services;
• Selling;
• Advertising;
• Professional services;
• Entertainment services;
• Basic intermediary services;
• Free services funded by advertising, sponsorhips, etc.

Official

EUR-Lex: Proposal for a European Parliament and Council Directive on certain legal aspects of electronic commerce in the internal market https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/HIS/?uri=COM:1998:586:FIN

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