§7.1 Online intermediation services

110. Article 5(1) requires providers of online intermediation services to set out the description of the main parameters, including the reasons for the relative importance of those main parameters, in their terms and conditions. 111. It should be noted that ‘terms and conditions’ is a broad notion. It is defined in Article 2(10) as covering: ‘all terms and conditions or specifications, irrespective of their name or form, which govern the contractual relationship’ between the provider of such services and the users that are unilaterally determined by that provider. In other words, the description may take different forms and still be considered as having been set out in the provider’s terms and conditions, in compliance with Article 5(1). 112. Whilst the description of the main ranking parameters must be part of the terms and conditions, providers of online intermediation services can choose how to best communicate to their business users and give prominence to the required description. They could, for example, take steps that direct business users to the exact location of the description and/or include it in Q&A sections, tutorials, guidelines, pop-up windows, video messages or in other forms. However, the information should not be inconsistent nor spread out over different tools or media, if that has the effect of making the information in question no longer easily available or plain and intelligible. 113. Without prejudice to case-by-case solutions that providers may use, providers could consider establishing a single touchpoint (for example in a user ‘dashboard’) that could reference or index all the relevant informational tools available to explain ranking transparency. Alternatively, the information could be duplicated across different informational tools – provided that the legal requirements of Articles 3 and 5 are met. 114. In accordance with Article 3(1)(b), the terms and conditions of providers of online intermediation services must be easily available to business users at all stages of their relationship, including before they enter into a contract with those providers. Therefore, all of this information should also be available to prospective business users.

← 7 · All articles · 7.2 →

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