choices made by European legislators. In terms of potential liability, even after the entry into force of the Digital Service Act, EU regulation is very restrictive27. In essence, a form of structured irresponsibility has been consolidated. It is expressed in relation to what have been considered the main activities of providers: the transport of information (known as mere conduit), temporary storage (known as caching), and permanent storage (known as hosting). The latter case applies to platforms that provide users with space on their servers for storing data that can be used by all users of the network. Basically, ISPs are not liable for the information processed and the operations carried out by those who use their services, unless they intervene directly in the content published or in the performance of the activities. For instance, the question remains controversial as to whether a platform (such as TripAdvisor) qualifies as an ‘active’ hosting provider, and is therefore exempt from the exclusion of liability under the special legislation. In particular, in Italy, the idea of an “active” hosting provider has been used in arguments put forward by the Italian Antitrust Authority to assess TripAdvisor’s position in relation to inauthentic reviews published on its website. The Authority had ascertained the unfairness of the commercial practice carried out by TripAdvisor LLC and by TripAdvisor Italy S.r.l., inhibiting its continuation and imposing a joint and several administrative penalties of EUR 500,000 on the two operators. The authority pointed out how TripAdvisor promoted, through the use of slogans, the reliability and trustworthiness of published reviews, with the consequence of inducing consumers to trust the authenticity of reviews. However, the administrative court (TAR Lazio) completely overturned the reasoning of the Italian Antitrust Authority in its decision upholding the appeal lodged by the two companies and denying any liability on the part of the portal operator for the reviews published by consumers28. Otherwise, in a decision of few years ago, the Court of Venice qualified Tripadvisor as an active ISP, thus excluding that the limitation of liability for Internet provider provided for by the legislation in force at the time (the result of the transposition into Italian law of the E-Commerce Directive 2000/31/EC) could operate against it. 27 Regulation (EU) 2022/2065 on a single market for digital services and amending Directive 2000/31/EC (Digital Services Act). 28 TAR Lazio, 13.7.2015, n. 9355, in Dir. inf. inform., 2015, p. 494. On the topic v. E. Della Bruna, Ingannevolezza della comunicazione commerciale, (in)adeguatezza organizzativa e responsabilità degli internet providers (il caso Tripadvisor), in Riv. dir. impr., 2016, p. 405; B. Blasco, Falsità della recensione in internet, astroturfing e scorrettezza delle pratiche commerciali, in Contratti, 2017, 2, pp. 231 ff. 565 FAKE AND PAID-FOR ONLINE REVIEWS AND PROTECTION
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