ECJ: Uber renders transport services, not information society services
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Partner
Netherlands
As a partner and head of our Commercial group in the Netherlands based in The Hague, I have significant expertise in technology law and digital business. I am also a member of our Tech & Comms Group.
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In a matter that is relevant for all online platforms, aggregators and similar service providers, the ECJ today (20 December 2017) provided important guidance as to the scope of the term ‘information society services’, as used in the Ecommerce Directive (Directive 2000/31/EC).
The ECJ decided that Uber renders a transport service rather than an information society service. It found that the intermediation service such as rendered by Uber must be regarded as being inherently linked to a transport service and, accordingly, must be classified as ‘a service in the field of transport’.
That means that Member States are free to regulate the conditions under which such services are to be provided.
