The Liability of Online Marketplaces under the Unfair Commercial Practices Directive, the E-commerce Directive and the Digital Services Act

Consumers increasingly shop through online marketplaces like Amazon. As a consequence, these
platforms have come to play a central role in the marketing of products to consumers. But to what
extent are online marketplaces liable if the way in which a product is marketed infringes the Unfair
Commercial Practices Directive, which is meant to protect consumers against unfair marketing?
This article discusses the liability of online marketplaces under the Unfair Commercial Practices
Directive, taking into consideration the exemptions from liability for hosting in the E-commerce
Directive and the draft Digital Services Act. Several scenarios are discussed. This discussion shows
that despite the liability exemptions in the E-commerce Directive and the draft Digital Services Act,
the UCPD provides significant room to hold online marketplaces liable. In addition, it is argued that
the E-commerce Directive and the draft Digital Services Act do not stand in the way of extending
the liability of online marketplaces, if desired.