Directive 2019/770 - Aspects concerning contracts for the supply of digital content and digital services - Main contents
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Directive (EU) 2019/770 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 20 May 2019 on certain aspects concerning contracts for the supply of digital content and digital services (Text with EEA relevance.)| Legal instrument | Directive |
|---|---|
| Number legal act | Directive 2019/770 |
| Original proposal | COM(2015)634  |
| CELEX number i | 32019L0770 |
| Document | 20-05-2019; Date of signature |
|---|---|
| Publication in Official Journal | 22-05-2019; OJ L 136 p. 1-27 |
| Signature | 20-05-2019 |
| Effect | 11-06-2019; Entry into force Date pub. +20 See Art 26 |
| Deadline | 12-06-2024; At the latest See Art 25 |
| End of validity | 31-12-9999 |
| Transposition | 01-07-2021; Adoption See Art 24.1 01-01-2022; Application See Art 24.1 |
22.5.2019 |
EN |
Official Journal of the European Union |
L 136/1 |
DIRECTIVE (EU) 2019/770 OF THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT AND OF THE COUNCIL
of 20 May 2019
on certain aspects concerning contracts for the supply of digital content and digital services
(Text with EEA relevance)
THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT AND THE COUNCIL OF THE EUROPEAN UNION,
Having regard to the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union, and in particular Article 114 thereof,
Having regard to the proposal from the European Commission,
After transmission of the draft legislative act to the national parliaments,
Having regard to the opinion of the European Economic and Social Committee (1),
Acting in accordance with the ordinary legislative procedure (2),
Whereas:
(1) |
The growth potential of e-commerce in the Union has not yet been fully exploited. The Digital Single Market Strategy for Europe tackles in a holistic manner the major obstacles to the development of cross-border e-commerce in the Union in order to unleash this potential. Ensuring better access for consumers to digital content and digital services, and making it easier for businesses to supply digital content and digital services, can contribute to boosting the Union's digital economy and stimulating overall growth. |
(2) |
Article 26(1) and (2) of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union (TFEU) provide that the Union is to adopt measures with the aim of establishing or ensuring the functioning of the internal market, which is to comprise an area without internal frontiers in which the free movement of goods and services is ensured. Article 169(1), and point (a) of Article 169(2), TFEU provide that the Union is to contribute to the attainment of a high level of consumer protection through measures adopted pursuant to Article 114 TFEU in the context of the completion of the internal market. This Directive aims to strike the right balance between achieving a high level of consumer protection and promoting the competitiveness of enterprises, while ensuring respect for the principle of subsidiarity. |
(3) |
Certain aspects concerning contracts for the supply of digital content or digital services should be harmonised, taking as a base a high level of consumer protection, in order to achieve a genuine digital single market, increase legal certainty and reduce transaction costs, in particular for small and medium-sized enterprises (‘SMEs’). |
(4) |
Businesses, especially SMEs, often face additional costs, stemming from differences in national mandatory consumer contract law rules, and legal uncertainty when offering cross-border digital content or digital services. Businesses also face costs when adapting their contracts to specific mandatory rules for the supply of digital content or digital services, which are already being applied in several Member States, creating differences in scope and content between specific national rules governing such contracts. |
(5) |
Consumers are not always confident when buying cross border and especially when it is done online. One of the major factors for consumers' lack of confidence is uncertainty about their key contractual rights and the lack of a clear contractual framework for digital content or digital services. Many consumers experience problems related to the quality of, or access to, digital content or digital services. For instance, they receive wrong or faulty digital content or digital services, or they are not able to access the digital content or digital service in question. As a result, consumers suffer financial and non-financial detriment. |
(6) |
In order to remedy such problems, both businesses and consumers should be able to rely on fully harmonised contractual rights in certain core areas concerning the supply of digital content or digital services across the Union. Full... |
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