S T A T U T O R Y  I N S T R U M E N T S  
2018 No. 249 
INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY 
CONSUMER PROTECTION 
The Portability of Online Content Services Regulati ons 2018  
Made - - - - 26th February 2018 
Laid before Parliament 28th February 2018 
Coming into force - - 1st April 2018 
The Secretary of State is a Minister designated( a) for the purposes of section 2(2) of the European 
Communities Act 1972( b) in relation to intellectual property and measures  relating to consumer 
protection. 
The Secretary of State makes the following Regulati ons in exercise of the powers conferred by 
section 2(2) of the European Communities Act 1972. 
Citation and commencement 
1. —(1) These Regulations may be cited as the Portabil ity of Online Content Services 
Regulations 2018. 
(2)  These Regulations come into force on 1st April 2018 . 
Interpretation 
2. —(1) In these Regulations—  
“provider” means a person who provides an online co ntent service and—  
(a)  is required, under Regulation 2017/1128, to ensure that the service is portable; or 
(b)  opts, under that Regulation, to provide a service t hat is portable; and 
“Regulation 2017/1128” means Regulation (EU) No 201 7/1128 of the European Parliament 
and of the Council of 14th June 2017 on cross-borde r portability of online content services in 
the internal market( c). 
(2)  Other words and expressions in these Regulations ar e to be construed in accordance with 
Regulation 2017/1128. 
                                                                                                                                            
(a) S.I. 2006/608 and S.I. 1993/2661. 
(b) 1972 (c.68), as amended by the Legislative and Re gulatory Reform Act 2006 (c.51), section 27(1) and the European Union 
(Amendment) Act 2008, (c.7) section 3(3) and Part 1  of the Schedule. 
(c) OJ No L181, 30.06.2017, p.1.  2Application 
3. —(1) These Regulations apply to online content cont racts concluded and online content rights 
acquired— 
(a)  on or after 1st  April 2018; or 
(b)  before 1st April 2018, where such contracts and rig hts subsist on or after 1st April 2018.  
(2)  In paragraph (1), a reference to online content con tracts and online content rights is a 
reference to such contracts and rights which relate  to the provision of, the access to, and the use of  
an online content service under Regulation 2017/112 8. 
Actionable breach 
4. —(1) A breach of an obligation by a provider to com ply with Article 3(1) (obligation to 
provide online content service), Article 3(3) (step s reducing quality of delivery) or Article 9(2) 
(verification) of Regulation 2017/1128 is a breach of a duty owed by that provider to a subscriber. 
(2)  Where the subscriber suffers loss or damage due to such a breach by the provider, that loss 
or damage is actionable by the subscriber against t hat provider. 
Review 
5. —(1) The Secretary of State must carry out a review  of these Regulations. 
(2)  In carrying out the review, the Secretary of State must have regard to how, rights and 
obligations corresponding to rights and obligations  in this instrument, operate in other member 
States. 
(3)  The Secretary of State must set out the conclusions  of the review in a report. 
(4)  The report must in particular— 
(a)  set out the objectives intended to be achieved by t hese Regulations; 
(b)  assess the extent to which those objectives are ach ieved; and 
(c)  assess whether those objectives remain appropriate and, if so, the extent to which they 
could be achieved with a system that imposes less r egulation. 
(5)  The Secretary of State must— 
(a)  publish the first such report before 1st  April 2023; and 
(b)  publish subsequent reports at intervals not exceedi ng five years. 
 
 
 
 Sam Gyimah 
 Minister of State 
26th February 2018 Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy 
 
 
 
EXPLANATORY NOTE 
(This note is not part of the Regulations) 
These Regulations relate to Regulation (EU) No 2017 /1128 of the European Parliament and of the 
Council of 14th June 2017 on cross-border portabili ty of online content services in the internal 
market (“Regulation 2017/1128”)( a). Whilst the terms of that Regulation are directly  applicable, 
the United Kingdom must ensure enforcement of those  terms. 
                                                                                                                                            
(a) OJ No L181, 30.06.2017, p.1.  3Regulation 2017/1128 allows subscribers, temporaril y present in a member State other than the 
member State of their actual and stable residence, to have access to a portable online content 
service in the same manner as in the member State o f residence. A reference in this Note to an 
Article is to that of Regulation 2017/1128 unless o therwise indicated. 
Regulation 1 states that these Regulations come int o force on 1st April 2018, which is the same 
day on which Regulation 2017/1128 becomes directly applicable (Article 11). 
Regulation 2 sets out definitions used in these Reg ulations. Regulation 2017/1128 not only obliges 
certain online content providers to provide this cr oss-border service (Article 3), but also offers 
other providers the possibility of opting-in to the  Regulation and being bound by its terms (Article 
6). Other words and expressions in these Regulation s are to be construed in accordance with 
Regulation 2017/1128. Regulation 3 provides for the se Regulations to apply to contracts and 
rights connected with online content services relat ing to Regulation 2017/1128, regardless of when 
those contracts were entered into or those rights a cquired, provided the contracts and rights apply 
after these Regulations come into force (Article 9. 1). In relation to such contracts, any term which 
disapplies or contravenes Regulation 2017/1128 is u nenforceable (Article 7).  
Regulation 2017/1128 provides that use of the porta ble online content service in a member State 
other than that of the subscriber’s actual and stab le residence is deemed to occur according to the 
laws of the member State of residence (Article 4).  
Regulation 4 makes specified Articles actionable wh ere a breach of an obligation owed by a 
provider to a subscriber causes damage to the latte r. This applies to the obligation to provide the 
portable service and the obligation not to take ste ps to reduce the quality of the delivery of the 
service and verification. The obligation to provide  the portable service in the ‘same manner’ 
includes to the same content, on the same range and  number of devices, for the same number of 
users, and with the same range of functionalites. ‘ Same manner’ does not extend to requirements 
relating to the quality of delivery of the service in the other member State unless otherwise agreed 
between the provider and subscriber but the provide r must not take steps to reduce the quality of 
delivery. The subscribers’ right of access to the s ervice under Regulation 2017/1128 is subject to 
verification checks by the service provider (which may be waived and that waiver may also be 
later withdrawn on the giving of reasonable notice) . 
Regulation 5 requires the Secretary of State to rev iew the operation of these Regulations, and to 
publish a report on findings. The first report must  be published before 1st April 2023. Reports 
afterwards are to be published at least once in eve ry 5 years. This regulation relates to sections 28 
to 31 of the Small Business, Enterprise and Employm ent Act 2015( a). 
These Regulations do not contain every means of enf orcement in relation to Regulation 
2017/1128, as some enforcement mechanisms are in ex isting legislation and so are not repeated in 
this statutory instrument. 
An impact assessment has not been published for thi s instrument as it has minimal impact on the 
private, public and voluntary sectors. 
  
  
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UK201802261022   03/2018   19585 
http://www.legislation.gov.uk/id/uksi/2018/249