On 1 January 2023, new legislation implementing the Digital Directive will come into force, which will significantly affect the rules for the supply of digital content or services in Poland. This article identifies in general terms the most important changes to the rights and obligations of suppliers of digital content/services and bodies to whom such content or services will be supplied.
On 9 November 2022, the President of Poland signed a law[1] that will implement several EU acts into the Polish legal system, including Directive 2019/770[2] (commonly known also as the ‘Digital Directive’). Effective from 1 January 2023, the changes will significantly affect the rules for the supply of digital content or services in Poland, including the relationship between the consumer and the suppliers of such content/services. The following are the key issues that should be taken into account by businesses providing electronic services.
New definitions of ‘digital content’ and ‘digital service’
With the implementation of the Digital Directive, the terms ‘digital content’ and ‘digital service’ have been defined in the Polish Consumer Rights Act.
‘Digital content’ should be understood to mean data which are produced and supplied in digital form (e.g., computer programs, applications, video files, audio files, music files, digital games, e-books, newsletters).
A ‘digital service’, in turn, should be understood to mean a service that allows the consumer to:
- create, process, store or access data in digital form;
- share data in digital form that have been uploaded or created by the consumer or other users of that service;
- any other interaction with data in digital form.
Digital services include, e.g., streaming platforms, services enabling video and audio sharing, other electronic file/content hosting, and cloud computing services.
New obligations of digital content and service suppliers
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