As of November 8, the Netherlands Authority for Consumers and Markets (ACM) is authorized to monitor compliance with the European Platform-to-business Regulation (P2B Regulation). The regulation contains rules for online search engines and digital platforms, such as online marketplaces and reservation and comparison sites. They must deal fairly and predictably with companies that offer their products or services to consumers via these platforms. Companies that believe that the rules are being violated on the platform they use can report this to the ACM.
The European Platform-to-Business Regulation (P2B) has been in force since 2020 and contains rules that should ensure clarity about the conditions under which companies can offer their products and services via online platforms and search engines. For example, online platforms must provide information about how complaints are handled, when a company’s account can be suspended and the order of search results.
Online entrepreneurs are increasingly dependent on online platforms and search engines such as marketplaces and booking sites to reach consumers. This is the case when, for example, they sell products on an online platform, offer an app via an app store or have a company website that can be found via a search engine. In order for an online entrepreneur to be able to use online platforms and online search engines, conditions apply that are often unilaterally determined by the providers of online platforms or search engines. It is therefore important that these companies are transparent about the rules they apply to the entrepreneurs who use their services. These European rules are included in the P2B Regulation, which is monitored by the ACM.
Online platforms and search engines have been required to comply with the rules of the P2B Regulation for some time now. Now that the Dutch implementation law has entered into force, the ACM can also take enforcement action. In the guideline ‘Promoting a transparent and fair online platform economy for companies’, the ACM has explained what rights online entrepreneurs have under the P2B Regulation. The ACM calls on online entrepreneurs to report it if they believe that these rights are being violated.
Source: www.emerce.nl
