Rules and Standards for Online Intermediary Platforms (7 September 2017)

The speakers of the panel on the Rules and Standards for Online Intermediary Platforms presented the different perspectives of looking at the issue of the ever-growing need to standardise the operation of online platforms.

Fryderyk Zoll, Professor of European, Polish and Comparative Private Law at the University of Osnabrück, who chaired the session, explained the goals of the ongoing ELI project in this field. Célia Zolynski, Professor of Law at Versailles Saint Quentin Paris-Saclay University, explained how the issue is seen in France.

Agata Wejman, Head of Legal and Compliance at Novo Nordisk, who spoke next, emphasised the importance of taking into account customer-protection issues when dealing with online platforms. Hans Schulte-Nölke, Professor of Law and Legal History at the University of Osnabrück, presented what the ELI Project Team on online platforms had achieved so far and explained that there are numerous challenges identified in the process of drafting rules, including definitional issues and their scope. It was emphasised that not only transactional issues should be covered by the rules. Christoph Busch, Professor of European Private and Business Law at the University of Osnabrück, explained the idea, methodology and approach of the Project Team. He presented his perspective of looking at  platforms as regulatory intermediaries and confirmed that the Team is also considering the question of the extent to which technology can be used as a regulatory tool.