MBR Issue 45

Malta Business Review
EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT
Online Platforms:
New rules to increase transparency and
fairness
In a well-attended public information
discussion co-organised by the European
Parliament Liaison Office and the Malta
Business Bureau, on the proposed EU
regulation on Fairness and transparency for
business users of online services, MEP Francis
Zammit Dimech emphasised the need for fair
rules and transparency for business users of
the online platforms particularly vis-a-vis the
industry giants.
Business and ministry speakers noted
that platforms are here to stay and it is in
everyone’s best interest to ensure these work
fairly for everyone. Support was generally
expressed for the draft regulation on the
perception that it will protect smaller and
independent businesses.
MEP Zammit Dimech outlined some
interesting concrete examples of the
balancing act required in his role as
Parliamentary rapporteur for the Legal Affairs
Committee to represent the concerns of
business users while protecting the freedom
of platforms. Issues of data, protection of
consumers, ranking, whether search engines
should be considered intermediaries - the
Parliament is moving towards considering
them to be so - and what form of online use
should be considered a transaction all feature
high as in his role as Rapporteur on this file,
wherein he is meeting both the big platforms
and the small businesses.
Mr Simon de Cesare, President of the Malta
Business Bureau, while noting that the hotel
industry was the most represented sector
present in the audience, emphasised the
importance of the proposed Regulation for
the sector, observing that over 50% of guest
nights in Europe are booked through Booking.
com. This, he said, gave the latter enormous
leverage over accommodation providers
when setting the contractual terms of the
business relationship.
Ms Anna Zammit Vella, acting Head of the
EP Office in Malta, emphasised Parliament’s
role as co-legislator on this file together
with Council, underlining the opportunity
for citizens’ to put forward their thoughts on
this draft law whilst it is still being discussed
in Brussels and in this way, to be part of
the European law-making process as their
thoughts would be reflected in Parliament's
position and possibly in the final text.
Ms Glorianne Borg and Mr Philip Vella
from the Ministry of Economy, Investment
and Small Business, set the scene with a
technical presentation on the main points
of the proposed regulation, in particular the
three pillars of transparency, redress and
monitoring that the proposed text is built on.
Amongst the observations that emerged from
the ensuing debate, Mr Nigel Mifsud, from the
Malta Chamber of Commerce, Enterprise and
Industry, stated that terms such as “indirect
remuneration” needed a definition and that
agreement was needed on what “terms and
conditions” should include.
Mr Marcel Mizzi, representing GRTU, noted,
on the other hand, that the challenges for
business users brought about by ranking is
very real but that the proposed regulation
should not stifle platforms.
Mr Andy Tanti, representative of the
Malta Hotels and Restaurants Association,
highlighted the increased dominance of
online travel agencies, leading to businesses
losing control over the conditions of their
own sale or distribution
In response, MEP Zammit Dimech stated
that some of these concerns were being
addressed in the 44 amendments currently
being tabled by himself, which also extended
to other issues notably:
• what should be the specific point of the
initiation of a commercial transaction
• how criteria used by platforms could be
shared while respecting their right to
not disclose algorithms
• ensuring protection of personal data, for
example, from affiliates that platforms
may have that consumers/business
users may not know about.
The public also raised concerns such as being
"punished" by online platforms when selling
online without knowing why. This is one of
the main grievances that this new law will set
right when it is adopted.
Parliament is aiming to establish its position in
the coming weeks, and the Austrian Council
Presidency for a framework agreement among
Member States by November. Realistically the
MEP and MEIB agreed, it will take two years
to have this legislation in place. MBR
Creditline: EPO
MEP Zammit Dimech
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