5 Sources of liability of online platforms generally The recent study conducted for the needs of European Parliament outlined many sources and types of the liability connected to the functioning of the online platforms.14 The rules of media law, child protection, online piracy, IP and copyrights infringement, hate speach, voting manipulations or liability deriving from infringements of privacy and data protection law, are in great extent relevant for online content-sharing providers, video sharing, social networks. This contribution is concentrated on the liability of online platforms for the services provided in tourism sector, where we will deal with the contractual and some issues of extra- contractual liability. Tourism sector is not exemption to the problems emerging with development of platforms. Sharing economy and the ecosystem of the platforms creates the grey area when it comes to legal categories. One of the issues that break through the application procedures used so far is the multiplicity of the nature of the interested entities, in contrast to the platform operator, who is an entrepreneur and professional, on the side of users (customers and providers) can be traders as well as non-professionals, consumers and prosumers (abbreviation of the words "producer" and "consumer".) Typical example in tourism is the expansion of accommodation provided by non- profesional hosts. Primary liability of the online platform Intermediary and advisory platforms are directly liable in case of failure to comply with duties ascribed directly to them. This consequence represents primary liability of the platform.15 Obligation of platform may arise out of contract, or it may be derived from the law. Contractual liability of platform operator will be governed by the general civil law, if users are consumers, consumer law will be applicable. Liability of the platform operator for the intermediation services is generally not questionable, Modernisation of Unfair Commercial Practices Directive by Omnibus Directive has introduced special rules and obligation targeted on onlinemarkets (additional information requirements, rules for online search engines and ranking results).16 Special attention has been paid to traders enabling consumers to search for services, such as travel, accommodation, and leisure activities, offered by different traders or by consumers by Recital 22 of Omnibus Directive. Consumers shall be informed about the default main parameters determining the ranking of offers presented to the consumer as a result of the search query and their relative importance as opposed to other parameters. Information should be succinct and made easily, prominently, and directly available. 14 Bertolini, Episcopo, Cherciu, 2021, p.86-89. 15 Such approach has been adopted also by the ELI Model Rules on Online Platforms, that were elabored with purpose to promote fairness and transparency in the relations between platform operators and platform users and should serve as a model for national, European and international legislators as well as a source of inspiration for self- regulation and standardisation. 16 Duivenvoorde, 2022, p.43-52.
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