The Digital Services Act (DSA) imposes obligations on online platforms and marketplaces operating in the EU, among them the reporting of illegal content, the procedure for removing content or listings, the information given to users and the transparency of the decisions the platform takes. The obligations differ according to the size and the function of the service, and additional requirements apply to certain categories of platform. For a business running an online marketplace or platform, the first question for an e-commerce lawyer is to establish which obligations apply to that particular service and how they have to be built into the way it operates. The terms of use, the content moderation procedures, the reporting mechanisms and the relationships with sellers and users all have to be examined as part of the same regulatory framework.
A platform's terms of use have to work in practice. Businesses often start from standard terms designed for another market or another legal system. Those terms may not meet the requirements of Greek and EU law, particularly on consumer protection, withdrawal rights, platform liability, relationships with third-party sellers and dispute resolution. What matters is not only the wording of the terms but how they connect to the way the platform operates: what the user is told, who bears responsibility for each transaction, how complaints are handled and when a listing or a piece of content can be removed.
Terms of use are not simply a document that has to exist before launch. They have to reflect the way the platform actually works.
Digital advertising and influencer collaborations create further requirements. The rules on disclosure of sponsored content, the use of user content, intellectual property and targeted advertising all have to be assessed alongside the data protection requirements. Particularly where advertising relies on user tracking and profiling, complying with the platform's own rules does not automatically mean complying with the GDPR. We therefore assess the platform as a whole — the terms of use, the relationships with sellers and users, content moderation, advertising and the processing of personal data — so that the legal requirements match the way the business actually works. Platform and influencer collaborations bring a Greek e-commerce lawyer into advertising and disclosure rules, not only contract questions.
Scales with size
DSA obligations depend on the size and the function of the platform
The level of obligation differs according to the size and the function of the platform. Larger platforms are subject to additional requirements, particularly on the handling of illegal content and on transparency, without that meaning smaller platforms fall outside the scope of the DSA.
Not one-size-fits-all
Terms of use have to be adapted to the particular market
Standard terms drafted for another legal system may not meet the requirements of Greek and EU law, particularly on consumer protection, seller agreements and the right of withdrawal.
Real obligations
Influencer marketing is not unregulated
Collaborations with influencers and content creators are subject to disclosure and advertising rules, over and above the terms of use of the platform concerned.
More overlap than expected
Digital advertising and the GDPR are closely connected
Targeted digital advertising often relies on tracking user behaviour and processing personal data. Complying with a platform's own advertising rules and policies does not automatically mean complying with the requirements of the GDPR.