WRITTEN QUESTION E-1722/99

by Marie-Noëlle Lienemann (PSE) to the Commission

(29 September 1999)

Subject: Consumer protection on the internet

All European countries have, to a greater or lesser extent, had to examine problems relating to consumer protection on the internet, infringements of copyright, piracy, forging and the confidentiality of communication.

Would it not be useful and, indeed, preferable for a European directive to be adopted in order to introduce such protection rules throughout Europe?

Is the Commission prepared to make appropriate proposals? If so, when?

Answer given by Mr Bolkestein on behalf of the Commission

(17 November 1999)

The Honourable Member is asking whether European directives address issues such as consumer protection, copyright, piracy, counterfeiting and data protection on the Internet. Indeed, the Community has a comprehensive set of Community legal instruments dealing with these issues already adopted or in the process of being negotiated.

As regards consumer protection Directive 97/7/EC of the Parliament and of the Council of 20 May 1997 on the protection of consumers in respect of distance contracts(1), Council Directive 93/13/EEC, of 5 April 1993, on unfair terms in consumer contracts(2), the amended Council Directive 84/450/EEC of 10 September 1984 relating to the approximation of the laws, regulations and administrative provisions of the Member States concerning misleading advertising(3), the amended Council Directive 87/102/EEC of 22 December 1986 for the approximation of the laws, regulations and administrative provisions of the Member States concerning consumer credit(4), Council Directive 90/314/EEC of 13 June 1990 on package travel, package holidays and package tours(5); Directive 98/6/EC of the Parliament and of the Council of 16 February 1998 on consumer protection in connection with the indication of the prices of products offered to consumers(6); Directive 98/43/EC of the Parliament and of the Council of 6 July 1998 on the approximation of the laws, regulations and administrative provisions of the Member states relating to the advertising and sponsorship of tobacco products(7) and Council Directive 92/28/EEC of 31 March 1992 on the advertising of medicinal products for human use(8) all are fully applicable to information society services.

Also Directive 95/46/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 24 October 1995 on the protection of individuals with regard to the processing of personal data and the free movement of such data(9) and Directive 97/66/EC of the Parliament and of the Council of 15 December 1997 concerning the processing of personal data and the protection of privacy in the telecommunications sector(10) are fully applicable to information society services.

Directive 98/84/EC of the Parliament and of the Council of 20 November 1998 on the legal protection of services based on, or consisting of, conditional access(11), addresses the problem of piracy of information society services.

In the area of copyright and related rights, a number of directives have been adopted which are of relevance to the on-line environment. In this context, particular reference should be made to Directive 91/250/EEC of 14 May 1991 on the legal protection of computer programmes(12) and to Directive 96/9/EC of the Parliament and of the Council of 11 March 1996 on the legal protection of databases(13).

The Commission has furthermore adopted proposals for Parliament and Council directives which are currently being negotiated in the areas of harmonisation of certain aspects of copyright and related rights in the information society(14); a common framework for electronic signatures(15); the distance marketing of consumer financial services(16); certain legal aspects of electronic commerce in the internal market(17). These proposals aim at complementing the already existing legal Community framework applicable to information society services and deal with issues addressed by the Honourable Member.

Finally the Commission is undertaking work on counterfeiting and has in this respect published the green paper on combating counterfeiting and piracy in the single market(18) on which the opinion of the Parliament is still awaited.

(1) OJ L 144, 4.6.1997.

(2) OJ L 95, 21.4.1993.

(3) OJ L 250, 19.9.1984.

(4) OJ L 42, 12.2.1987.

(5) OJ L 158, 23.6.1990.

(6) OJ L 80, 18.3.1998.

(7) OJ L 213, 30.7.1998.

(8) OJ L 113, 30.4.1992.

(9) OJ L 281, 23.11.1995.

(10) OJ L 24, 30.1.1998.

(11) OJ L 320, 28.11.1998.

(12) OJ L 122, 17.5.1991.

(13) OJ L 77, 27.3.1996.

(14) OJ C 180, 25.6.1999.

(15) OJ C 325, 23.10.1998.

(16) OJ C 385, 11.12.1998.

(17) OJ C 30, 5.2.1999.

(18) COM(98) 569 final.