European UnionConsumer Protection Cooperation (CPC) Regulation, Article 9(4), point (g) (power of a competent authority to remove content, restrict access to an online interface or order a domain name deleted)
Regulation (EU) 2017/2394, Article 9(4)(g)
In force since .
A notice and action rule binding government bodies.
As of .
What it requires
- This is a duty of the Member States and their competent authorities, not of the operator of an online interface: each competent authority must have, as a minimum enforcement power for an intra-Union or widespread infringement of Union consumer protection laws, the power in Article 9(4), point (g), exercisable where no other effective means are available to bring about the cessation or the prohibition of the infringement and to avoid the risk of serious harm to the collective interests of consumers.
- If a competent authority exercises that power against you as the operator of an online interface, such as an online marketplace, remove the content, restrict access to the online interface, or display the explicit warning to consumers when they access it, as the authority orders.
- If you are a hosting service provider and a competent authority orders you to remove, disable or restrict access to an online interface, do so. The authority may request a third party or another public authority to implement the measure.
- If you are a domain registry or registrar and a competent authority orders you, where appropriate, to delete a fully qualified domain name and to allow the authority to register it, do so.
Who enforces it
Enforcement body
The competent authorities (Article 9(1) and (4)), exercising the powers directly, through other competent or public authorities or designated bodies, or by application to courts competent to grant the necessary decision (Article 10(1)).
What this law does
Article 2(1) applies the Regulation to intra-Union infringements, widespread infringements and widespread infringements with a Union dimension, even if those infringements have ceased before enforcement starts or is completed. Article 3, point (1), defines Union laws that protect consumers' interests as the Regulations and the Directives, as transposed into the internal legal order of the Member States, that are listed in the Annex.
Article 9(1) requires each competent authority to have the minimum investigation and enforcement powers set out in Article 9(3), (4), (6) and (7) that are necessary for the application of the Regulation. Article 9(2) lets Member States decide not to confer all the powers on every competent authority, provided that each of those powers can be exercised effectively and as necessary in relation to any infringement covered by the Regulation.
Article 9(4), point (g), gives a competent authority, where no other effective means are available to bring about the cessation or the prohibition of the infringement and in order to avoid the risk of serious harm to the collective interests of consumers, the power to remove content or to restrict access to an online interface or to order the explicit display of a warning to consumers when they access an online interface, the power to order a hosting service provider to remove, disable or restrict access to an online interface, and, where appropriate, the power to order domain registries or registrars to delete a fully qualified domain name and to allow the competent authority concerned to register it, including by requesting a third party or other public authority to implement such measures.
Article 10(1) provides that the powers in Article 9 are exercised directly by competent authorities, by recourse to other competent authorities or other public authorities where appropriate, by instructing designated bodies, or by application to courts competent to grant the necessary decision.
Article 10(2) requires the exercise of the powers to be proportionate and to comply with Union and national law, including applicable procedural safeguards and the principles of the Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union.
When LexLint raises it
When your app profile says your app operates an app store or operates a social platform.