Regulation of Internet user services
Transactions over the Internet will finally be given legal status in Greece, if a Presidential Decree drafted by Deputy Development Minister Christos Theodorou is cleared by the Council of State, the country’s highest administrative court. The decree’s aim is to regulate online services. There are, however, several transactions that are exempt from its scope. These involve notaries and all legal transactions involving public law entities, representation of clients in court, games of chance where financial transactions are involved, and the protection of personal data. What the decree does regulate is the signing of electronic contracts: For the first time, online contracts will have the same validity as ones signed on paper. It also limits the liability of intermediaries providing Internet services, although it distinguishes between those who transmit information and those who store information temporarily or permanently. Transmitters of information face no liability at all, while those who store it face limited liability. The decree also avoids burdening Internet services with unnecessary red tape: Service providers will need no license. The draft decree also provides for swift legal protection and redress in the case of online transactions, and defines the cases of extra-judicial arbitration. According to the decree, providers of services on the Internet residing in Greece are liable under Greek law. The decree does not deal with an issue that has raised considerable debate within the European Union, that of the taxation of transactions. Contrary to the United States, the EU, spurred by France, wants to impose a tax on all online financial transactions, something the online community is resisting, saying it could stifle the Internet’s development. Piraeus’s first-quarter results were marked by a strong jump in net interest income, offsetting the sharp decline in commission income due to lower stock market revenues. Analysts, however, said the overall picture showed improvements in core operating income and profit.
