European Web Law Developments: What You Need to Know

26 June 2015 WordCamp Europe 2015
26 June 2015
European web law developments:
what you need to know
Heather Burns

@idea15webdesign
http://idea15.wordpress.com
http://www.idea15webdesign.com

I am not a lawyer

E-commerce reforms

EU Consumer Rights Directive (2014)
• Applies to all e-commerce sites in
Europe
• Modernises consumer protection
for the e-commerce world
• Protects sellers as well as buyers
• Enhances information
requirements about the product
or service, the payment, and the
seller
• Bans certain dark patterns

What do you need to do?
1. Update your sites to enhance information requirements
2. Remove naughty dark patterns
3. Think about how these laws impact your work in the
WordPress ecosystem, as well as how they affect the sites
you build for clients

The EU cookie law

…28 cookie laws
• 28 national implementations range
from opt-in to opt-out, express to
implied consent, and strict to
“whatever”. Check yours here.
• The Dutch cookie law, which was the
strictest and most difficult, has been
relaxed
• Italy’s law only went into effect at the
beginning of this month
(three years late...)

The bottom line?
No one is exactly sure
how much the cookie law has cost in
legal and implementation costs,
But there have been only
three fines to date totalling
€29,000
The impact on privacy?
0
Counting the costs of the cookie law, parts 1 and 2
https://idea15.wordpress.com/2015/06/05/counting-the-costs-of-the-cookie-law-part-1-of-2-how-
much-was-it-supposed-to-cost/

Copyright

European copyright reform
Last week…
we almost lost the right to link
Visit http://www.juliareda.eu
Why legislators are attacking the right to create links – & what you can do
https://idea15.wordpress.com/2015/06/15/why-legislators-are-attacking-right-to-create-links-and-
what-you-can-do/

Who’s responsible for comments?

The strange case of Delfi v Estonia
• Raises the questions of who is liable for comments left on
web sites, and where, when, and how intermediary
liability no longer applies
• Case taken to the European Court of Human Rights over
comments left below a newspaper article on an Estonian
web site in 2006
• …yes, 2006

The strange case of Delfi v Estonia
Judges’ opinions included…
“In our view, member States may hold a news portal, such
as Delfi, liable for clearly unlawful comments such as insults,
threats and hate speech by readers of its articles if the
portal knew, or ought to have known, that such comments
would be or had been published on the portal.”
“It is completely unacceptable that an Internet portal or any
other kind of mass media should be permitted to publish any
kind of anonymous comments”
ECHR Human Rights holds news portal liable for user comments
http://www.technollama.co.uk/european-court-of-human-rights-holds-news-portal-liable-for-
user-comments

EU Place of Supply
Reforms
(VATMOSS)

Created by the EU in 2008 on the
assumptions that:
• Only the Amazons and Apples of the world would be
affected
• Digital products meant ebooks and mp3s
• Small and microbusinesses would not be affected, and
therefore did not need to be consulted, because
• Small and micro businesses do not sell direct to
consumers, nor do they sell internationally
• Data protection implications were completely
overlooked

…what a VATMESS
• There are 81 VAT rates across Europe…but most
shopping carts can only handle one rate per
country…
• You can have multiple VAT rates in one transaction…
• Some countries require a VAT invoice…
• Some national MOSS systems are not ready…
• Tax authorities are beginning to directly contact
traders in other countries over VATMOSS discrepancies
of less than €5 …

What about VATMOSS and
crowdfunding / microsponsorship?
VATMOSS = micromanagement of micropayments to microtraders

1. Follow @euvataction
2. Visit http://www.euvataction.org
3. Sign up for their updates
What do you need to do?

Get to know the EU GDPR

Directive 95/45/EC of 24 October 1995

Changes coming in 2016
• What is consent, and how and when is it given?
• Which national data protection agency has authority?
• Where does EU data protection law apply, and to
whom?
• When and how can data be transferred outside the EU?
• What should penalties be for noncompliance?

Any questions?

Gracias WordCamp Europe!
@idea15webdesign
http://idea15.wordpress.com
http://www.idea15webdesign.com

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