The Liability of Online Marketplaces under the Unfair Commercial Practices Directive, the E-commerce Directive and the Digital Services Act

Abstract

Consumers increasingly shop through online marketplaces like Amazon. As a consequence, these platforms have come to play a central role in the marketing of products to consumers. But to what extent are online marketplaces liable if the way in which a product is marketed infringes the Unfair Commercial Practices Directive, which is meant to protect consumers against unfair marketing? This article discusses the liability of online marketplaces under the Unfair Commercial Practices Directive, taking into consideration the exemptions from liability for hosting in the E-commerce Directive and the draft Digital Services Act. Several scenarios are discussed. This discussion shows that despite the liability exemptions in the E-commerce Directive and the draft Digital Services Act, the UCPD provides significant room to hold online marketplaces liable. In addition, it is argued that the E-commerce Directive and the draft Digital Services Act do not stand in the way of extending the liability of online marketplaces, if desired.