Internet

• Author: International Law Group

With the approval of the European Parliament, the Council of the European Union has issued Directive 2000/31/EC to address legal aspects of electronic commerce. The Directive harmonizes national requirements on information society services to the extent necessary, including the areas of internet service, commercial communications, electronic contracts, liability of intermediaries, codes of conduct, arbitration, and court actions. It does not, however, establish additional rules of private international law or interfere with the jurisdiction of the courts (Article 1). The Directive defines the term "service provider" broadly and includes all "information society services" such as internet access, internet communications, advertisements, electronic sales, and so forth. For example, the new Directive provides that:

- Information society services do not require prior authorization. Directive 97/13/EC, however, may require authorizations and licenses for telecommunication services (Article 4).

- All service providers shall make basic information about themselves and their services easily available (Article 5).

- The parties involved must clearly identify commercial communications (referring to mass promotional e-mails and...