Information about ranking parameters
The new information requirement in Article 7(4a) applies only to traders that allow consumers to search for products offered by other, third party, traders or by consumers, i.e. online marketplaces and comparison tools. It does not apply to traders that provide their consumers with a possibility to search only amongst their own offers of different products. The information requirement also does not apply to ‘online search engines’ as defined in Regulation (EU) 2019/1150 (the ‘P2B Regulation’). This is because the P2B Regulation already requires all providers of online search engines to publish ‘an easily and publicly available description’ of their main parameters, which is accordingly also accessible for consumers and not only for business users. Furthermore, the information requirement in the UCPD applies to traders when the consumer enters a search query. In contrast, it does not apply to the default organisation of the online interface that is displayed to the consumer and that is not the result of a specific search query on that online interface. Directive (EU) 2019/2161 added a similar information obligation also to the CRD that only applies to online marketplaces, i.e. intermediaries enabling the direct conclusion of consumer contracts with third parties (both B2C or C2C contracts). The notion of ‘ranking’ is defined in Article 2(m) of the UCPD as ‘the relative prominence given to products, as presented, organised or communicated by the trader, irrespective of the technological means used for such presentation, organisation or communication’. The same definition applies also in the context of the CRD. Recital 19 of Directive (EU) 2019/2161 further explains it as ‘…including resulting from the use of algorithmic sequencing, rating or review mechanisms, visual highlights, or other saliency tools, or combinations thereof’. As regards the content of the information, the platform must provide ‘general’ information about the main parameters determining the ranking of products and about the ‘relative importance’ of those parameters as opposed to other parameters. According to recital 22 of Directive (EU) 2019/2161 ‘Parameters determining the ranking mean any general criteria, processes, specific signals incorporated into algorithms or other adjustment or demotion mechanisms used in connection with the ranking.’ Information on ranking is without prejudice to Directive (EU) 2016/943 of the European Parliament and of the Council (345) on trade secrets. As explained in the parallel ranking transparency obligation for all online platforms and online search engines laid down in Article 5 of the P2B Regulation, this means that a consideration of the commercial interests of the relevant providers should never lead to a refusal to disclose the main parameters determining ranking. At the same time, neither Directive (EU) 2016/943 nor the P2B Regulation requires disclosure of the detailed functioning of the ranking mechanisms of the relevant providers, including their algorithms (346). The same approach applies to information requirement under the UCPD. The description of the default ranking parameters can remain at a general level and does not have to be presented in a customised manner for each individual search query (347). The information must be provided in a clear and comprehensible manner and in a way appropriate to the means of distance communication. It is further specified that it has to be in a specific section of the online interface that is directly and easily accessible from the page where the offers are presented. The information obligation also applies where a trader enables searches on an online interface by voice commands (via ‘digital assistants’), rather than through typing. Also in this case, the information must be made available for consultation on the trader’s website/application on ‘a specific section of the online interface’. The new rules on ranking transparency towards consumers (in CRD and UCPD) define ‘ranking’ in materially similar terms as the P2B Regulation. The P2B Regulation requires platforms to inform their business users through information in the platform’s business-to-business Terms and Conditions, or make information available in the pre-contractual stage. Although the respective information requirements are similar, their ‘audiences’ are different. For this reason, the new provisions in the UCPD (and in the CRD) only require ‘general’ information about the main ranking parameters and their relative importance. This difference from the P2B Regulation reflects the information needs of consumers who require concise information that is easy to understand. For the same reason, the UCPD and CRD rules also do not require an explanation of the ‘reasons’ for the relative importance of the main ranking parameters that is required by the P2B regulation. Practically speaking, the providers of online intermediation services will be able to use the more detailed information that they provide to their business users under the P2B Regulation as a basis for designing a consumer-oriented explanation of the ranking parameters. The Commission has issued guidelines on ranking transparency pursuant to the P2B regulation (348). These guidelines address several questions that are also relevant in the application of the rules of the UCPD and CRD on ranking transparency, such as the concept of ‘main parameters’, ‘relative prominence’ and ‘direct and indirect remuneration’.
Source: EUR-Lex (Cellar) · retrieved 2026-09-25 · Text as adopted (Official Journal); later amendments are not incorporated in this text.