Watchtower/Law library/Electronic Commerce (EC Directive) Regulations 2002
As last captured

legislation

Electronic Commerce (EC Directive) Regulations 2002

Electronic Commerce Regulations 2002 requires service providers to provide statutory disclosures, storable contract terms, and order acknowledgments under reg. 6, reg. 9, and reg. 11, with liability exemptions under reg. 17, reg. 18, and reg. 19.

Verified at publication, 2026-11-12 11:40 UTC

27 provisions in 2 parts · official text ↗

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impact by vertical

Summary

What this law does

Transposes the Electronic Commerce Directive into UK law, setting information and transparency requirements, electronic contracting disclosures, input-error correction and order acknowledgment duties, and conditional liability exemptions for intermediary conduit, caching, and hosting service providers.

Why it matters to Signicat and its customers

No Signicat-specific relevance narrative is stored for this instrument; the stored applicability is shown below.

Who is bound: service provider; person providing an information society service

Commerce
Mandates pre-contractual disclosures, accessible storable terms, and electronic order receipt confirmations for online commercial sales.
Energy Utility Telco
Establishes intermediary liability protections for mere conduit, caching, and hosting activities across electronic communications networks.
Services
Imposes online transparency, identification, and electronic contract formation duties on commercial and professional service providers.
Media Entertainment
Conditions caching and hosting intermediary liability exemptions on lack of actual unlawful knowledge or expeditious take-down.

Key obligations each linked to the provision it comes from

Part summaries

0 of 0 parts have a verified summary.

L1 unavailable for current verification: the overall summary needs every part verified. Provisions and the verified summaries remain readable.

Verification findings (30)

synthesis coverage: missing/unverified L2 main

synthesis coverage: missing evaluation uk:uksi/2002/2013#regulation-1

synthesis coverage: missing evaluation uk:uksi/2002/2013#regulation-2

synthesis coverage: missing evaluation uk:uksi/2002/2013#regulation-3

synthesis coverage: missing evaluation uk:uksi/2002/2013#regulation-4

synthesis coverage: missing evaluation uk:uksi/2002/2013#regulation-5

synthesis coverage: missing evaluation uk:uksi/2002/2013#regulation-6

synthesis coverage: missing evaluation uk:uksi/2002/2013#regulation-7

synthesis coverage: missing evaluation uk:uksi/2002/2013#regulation-8

synthesis coverage: missing evaluation uk:uksi/2002/2013#regulation-9

synthesis coverage: missing evaluation uk:uksi/2002/2013#regulation-10

synthesis coverage: missing evaluation uk:uksi/2002/2013#regulation-11

synthesis coverage: missing evaluation uk:uksi/2002/2013#regulation-12

synthesis coverage: missing evaluation uk:uksi/2002/2013#regulation-13

synthesis coverage: missing evaluation uk:uksi/2002/2013#regulation-14

synthesis coverage: missing evaluation uk:uksi/2002/2013#regulation-15

synthesis coverage: missing evaluation uk:uksi/2002/2013#regulation-16

synthesis coverage: missing evaluation uk:uksi/2002/2013#regulation-17

synthesis coverage: missing evaluation uk:uksi/2002/2013#regulation-18

synthesis coverage: missing evaluation uk:uksi/2002/2013#regulation-19

synthesis coverage: missing evaluation uk:uksi/2002/2013#regulation-20

synthesis coverage: missing evaluation uk:uksi/2002/2013#regulation-21

synthesis coverage: missing evaluation uk:uksi/2002/2013#regulation-22

synthesis coverage: missing/unverified L2 schedule

synthesis coverage: missing evaluation uk:uksi/2002/2013#schedule-paragraph-1

synthesis coverage: missing evaluation uk:uksi/2002/2013#schedule-paragraph-2

synthesis coverage: missing evaluation uk:uksi/2002/2013#schedule-paragraph-3

synthesis coverage: missing evaluation uk:uksi/2002/2013#schedule-paragraph-4

synthesis coverage: missing evaluation uk:uksi/2002/2013#schedule-paragraph-5

Instrument tier unavailable

Change history as published

Reg. 5 omitted (7.5.2026) by virtue of The Electronic Commerce (Amendment and Consequential Provision) Regulations 2026 (S.I. 2026/407), regs. 1(2), 2(5)

Sch. omitted (7.5.2026) by virtue of The Electronic Commerce (Amendment and Consequential Provision) Regulations 2026 (S.I. 2026/407), regs. 1(2), 2(6) · repeated 5×

Pending effects amendments not yet applied to this text

No captured pending effects.

Full TOC · table of contents Expand all parts

2 parts · 27 provisions. Open a provision for its text and, where available, its one-line summary.

· 22 provisions
1 Citation and commencement
2 Interpretation
3 Exclusions
4 Non-UK service providers – restriction on application of requirements
5 Derogations from Regulation 4
6 General information to be provided by a person providing an information society service
7 Commercial communications
8 Unsolicited commercial communications
9 Information to be provided where contracts are concluded by electronic means
10 Other information requirements
11 Placing of the order
12 Meaning of the term “order”
13 Liability of the service provider
14 Compliance with Regulation 9(3)
15 Right to rescind contract
16 Amendments to the Stop Now Orders (E.C. Directive) Regulations 2001
17 Mere conduit
18 Caching
19 Hosting
20 Protection of rights
21 Defence in Criminal Proceedings: burden of proof
22 Notice for the purposes of actual knowledge
SCHEDULE · 5 provisions
1
2
3
4
5

Impact profile

Transportation
1
Banking finance
1
Public sector health
1
Energy, utilities & telco
2
Insurance pensions
1
Services
2
Media entertainment
2
Manufacturing construction
1
Commerce
2

Dimensions

Mechanism strength
1
Signicat obligation
0
Urgency
Pending

Penalties

Damages for breach of statutory duty under reg. 13; right to contract rescission under reg. 15.

Definitions

commercial communication
“a communication, in any form, designed to promote, directly or indirectly, the goods, services or image of any person pursuing a commercial, industrial or craft activity or exercising a regulated profession, other than a communication—”
reg. 2
consumer
“any natural person who is acting for purposes other than those of his trade, business or profession;”
reg. 2
enforcement authority
“does not include courts but, subject to that, means any person who is authorised, whether by or under an enactment or otherwise, to take enforcement action;”
reg. 2
service provider
“any person providing an information society service;”
reg. 2
recipient of the service
“any person who, for professional ends or otherwise, uses an information society service, in particular for the purposes of seeking information or making it accessible;”
reg. 2
order
“Except in relation to regulation 9(1)(c) and regulation 11(1)(b) where “order” shall be the contractual offer, “order” may be but need not be the contractual offer for the purposes of regulations 9 and 11.”
reg. 12

References

uk:eudr/1998/34 (unregistered reference)

uk:eudr/1998/48 (unregistered reference)

uk:eudr/2000/31 (unregistered reference)

uk:eudr/2002/58 (unregistered reference)

uk:ukpga/2018/12