4. Data, platforms and AI: Regulation (EU) 2016/679 (General Data Protection Regulation – GDPR9) provides the overarching legal for personal-data processing within the European Union. Although not a sector-specific instrument, its material and personal scope clearly extends to hospitality and restaurant activities, which typically involve the collection or processing of customer data through reservation systems, online review platforms or loyalty programmes. The Digital Services Act (DSA), Regulation (EU) 2022/206510, regulates online intermediaries, including platforms that host restaurant reviews or quality labels, while the AI Act, Regulation (EU) 2024/1689, will apply to high-risk and general-purpose AI systems used in reputational scoring or recommendation tools. None of these instruments creates a public-law EU classification for restaurants, but they profoundly shape how information about quality is generated, shared and trusted. III. MEMBER-STATE PATTERNS: TAXONOMY BY TYPE VS. VOLUNTARY QUALITY LABELS Across the EU, two distinct regulatory patterns can be observed. First consists of biding taxonomies that classify establishment, classifying according to their type: “restaurants”, “cafeterias”, “bars”, and “banquet halls”, in order to adapt minimum operational requirements concerning layout, sanitary facilities, menus, information duties. The second involves quality labels which remain largely voluntary and often managed by public agencies or professional associations. In Spain, the autonomous community of Castilla y León offers a clear example of the first pattern. The 2016 Regional Decree (Decreto 12/2016, de 21 de abril) regulates restaurants, cafes, bars and banquet halls, defining categories that vary according to the nature of the premises and the range of services provided. It also establishes entry and operating conditions and 9 European Parliament and Council of the European Union. (2016, April 27). Regulation (EU) 2016/679 on the protection of natural persons with regard to the processing of personal data and on the free movement of such data (General Data Protection Regulation). Official Journal of the European Union, L 119, 1–88. 10 European Parliament and Council of the European Union. (2016, April 27). Regulation (EU) 2016/679 on the protection of natural persons with regard to the processing of personal data and on the free movement of such data (General Data Protection Regulation). Official Journal of the European Union, L 119, 1–88. 606 AFONSO RIBEIRO CAFÉ
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