Businesses, especially SMEs, are becoming increasingly dependent on platforms and search engines to reach new consumers and offer their goods and services. At the same time, platforms and search engines have a large influence on businesses’ exposure to their consumers. To remedy some of the imbalances in the platform and business user relationships, the European Commission adopted Regulation (EU) 2019/1150 on promoting fairness and transparency for business users of online intermediation services (the P2B Regulation).
The main purpose of the study is to take stock of the state-of-play of the P2B Regulation implementation, evaluate its effectiveness thus far and propose a methodology for its final evaluation taking place in 2025. In addition, the study also contributes to the awareness raising activities, including dissemination of implementation best practices to assist the Commission in ensuring effective implementation of the Regulation.
To gather the necessary data for the study, the research team will conduct desk research, conduct interviews, organise focus groups and launch consultations targeting online platforms and search engines, business and corporate website users, relevant associations and implementing bodies.