Who does it apply to?
New obligations are now in place for businesses and organisations providing digital services. We have set out information that will help you to determine where your business sits in the framework of responsibilities and obligations created by the Digital Services Act (DSA).
The DSA applies to a wide range of services provided online, called “intermediary services”, including online marketplaces, social media and content-sharing platforms, app stores, and online travel and accommodation platforms to internet service providers and content delivery networks.
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Intermediary Service Providers (ISPs) – Category definitions
Mere conduit service
Consisting of the transmission in a communication network of information provided by a recipient of the service, or the provision of access to a communication network.
- Examples: internet service providers; direct messaging services; virtual private networks; domain name systems; voice over IP; top level domain name registries.
Caching service
Consisting of the transmission in a communication network of information provided by a recipient of the service, involving the automatic, intermediate and temporary storage of that information, performed for the sole purpose of making onward transmission more efficient to other recipients upon their request.
- Examples: content delivery networks; content adaptation proxies or reverse proxies.
Hosting service
Consisting of the storage of information provided by, and at the request of, a recipient of the service.
- Examples: cloud service providers; online marketplaces; social media; app stores; travel and accommodation platforms.
Categories of Intermediary Service Providers
Category 1: Intermediary Service Providers
Relates to organisations which provide services which consist of either a ‘mere conduit’ service, a ‘caching’ service or a ‘hosting’ service. Categories 2-4 are subsets of this Category 1.
Category 2: Hosting Service Providers
Hosting services are intermediary service providers who store information provided by, and at the request of, a recipient of the service.
Category 3: Online Platforms
‘Online Platforms’ are hosting services that, at the request of a recipient of the service, stores and disseminates information to the public (unless that activity is a minor and purely ancillary feature of another service or a minor functionality of the principal service and, for objective and technical reasons, cannot be used without that other service, and the integration of the feature or functionality into the other service is not a means to circumvent the applicability of the DSA).
Category 4: Very Large Online Platforms and Very Large Online Search Engines
Very Large Online Platforms (VLOPs): VLOPs are online platforms having 45 million or more average monthly active recipients of the service in the EU (representing 10% of the population of the EU).
Very Large Online Search Engines (VLOSEs): VLOSEs are search engines having 45 million or more average monthly active recipients of the service in the EU (representing 10% of the population of the EU).
Application of rules
The rules of the DSA apply to all Intermediary Service Providers (ISPs) offering their services in the European Single Market, whether they are established in the EU or outside.
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ISP: internet service provider vs intermediary service provider
Internet service provider:
an organisation that provides internet services e.g. Eir, Vodafone
Intermediary service provider:
a provider of online services, called “intermediary services” e.g. online marketplaces, social media and content-sharing platforms, app stores, and online travel and accommodation platforms