LEGAL STATUS OF ONLINE MARKETPLACE OPERATORS
Keywords:
electronic contract, information intermediary, online platform, electronic commerce, civil liability, European Union directives, functional approachAbstract
This article analyzes the legal status of online platforms acting as intermediaries in the process of concluding electronic contracts. The study examines contemporary scholarly debates on defining the role and civil liability of information intermediaries within civil law relations. The author demonstrates that although online platforms were initially perceived as neutral information intermediaries, their growing involvement in setting trading rules, standardizing contractual terms, and actively influencing transaction processes reveals the limitations of this approach. The article examines the legal relationships between online platforms, sellers, and buyers from a civil law perspective and substantiates the need to apply a functional approach in determining platform liability. The research is conducted using a comparative legal methodology based primarily on European Union directives, with reference to relevant judicial practice concerning the liability of online platforms. The findings contribute both theoretically and practically to the improvement of legal regulation in the field of electronic commerce.
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