§2.1.1 Paid ranking

32. In respect of direct or indirect remuneration possibly being one of the main parameters determining ranking (‘paid ranking’), Article 5(3) contains an explicit obligation to set out a description of any such paid ranking possibilities and of the effects of such remuneration on ranking – where such possibilities are among the main parameters determining ranking. 33. According to Article 2(8), ranking turns around ‘the relative prominence given to the goods or services offered through the online intermediation services’ (8). Banner or display advertising can in certain cases actively influence the ‘relative prominence’ of the good or services offered by users. Where that is so and the other requirements of Article 2(8) are also met, and the relevance of this parameter is moreover such that it qualifies as a ‘main’ parameter, Article 5(3) applies. In other cases, Article 5(3) does not apply to such advertising. The fact that the same online advertising tools or online advertising exchanges, which are excluded from the scope of the Regulation, (9) may be used to facilitate ‘on-platform’ and ‘off-platform’ advertising should in general not be considered a decisive factor in this regard. Illustrative example A mobile app provider pays one and the same provider of online advertising services (advertising networks, serving tools and exchanges) to improve the relative prominence of its app in a mobile app store through ‘paid ranking’ and to simultaneously promote that app by means of a banner advertisement on a set of third-party websites that are part of the same online advertising services provider’s advertising network. The mere fact that the same advertising technology used to serve that banner advertisement on the third-party websites may be used to promote the app directly within the online intermediation services or online search engine concerned does not exclude the ‘advertising’ of that app done within the latter services from the scope of Article 5. The promotion of the app within the relevant provider’s own online intermediation services or online search engines could in principle constitute ‘paid ranking’. 34. Considering that Article 5(3) applies to all providers at issue here, the same applies in respect of providers of online search engines, in the context of which ‘paid ranking’ can cover advertising opportunities that involve paid prominence of corporate website users’ websites or digital applications on the search engine concerned

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Source: EUR-Lex (Cellar) · retrieved 2026-09-07