Hungary drafts law on obligations for DMA gatekeepers and online accommodation service intermediaries

On 13 December 2023, two government MPs submitted a draft law to Hungarian parliament on Measures in the interest of Hungarian consumers and undertakings. The draft law would set new rules for gatekeepers providing core platform services under the Digital Markets Act (as designated by the European Commission) and online accommodation service intermediaries (as defined below) providing booking services to consumers with a residence in and undertakings established in Hungary. The text of the draft law is available here (only in Hungarian).

The specific obligations are largely underpinned by the findings of the accelerated sector inquiry completed by the Hungarian Competition Authority earlier this year. The findings of the Hungarian Competition Authority are also available here (only in Hungarian).

Rules for gatekeepers

The draft law provides the following rules for gatekeepers:

• If the contract is governed by the law of any other state than Hungary, the gatekeeper must provide Hungarian consumers and undertakings with independent legal advice in Hungarian language regarding the applicable law.
• The payment deadline set for the gatekeeper under a contract with a Hungarian undertaking may not exceed 45 days.
• If the contract is fulfilled in different currencies, the gatekeeper is obliged to bear the risk of currency exchange rate fluctuations, meaning gatekeepers cannot pass it on to Hungarian consumers and undertakings.
•  The gatekeeper is obliged to operate in person, telephone and online customer service and complaint-handling mechanisms in the Hungarian language.
• The gatekeeper is obliged to provide a substantive response to complaints received from undertakings within 30 days.
• The in-person complaints procedure must be conducted in Hungary physically and in the Hungarian language.

Rules for online accommodation service intermediaries

An online accommodation service intermediary is defined as an undertaking that provides online commercial services to accommodation service providers (e.g. hotels, etc.) and consumers with the aim of matching the offer of accommodation service providers with the demand for accommodation by consumers. The rules for online accommodation service intermediaries as set down in the draft include the following:

• The online accommodation service intermediary is obliged to operate in-person, telephone and online customer service and complaint handling mechanisms in the Hungarian language, if its service is available in at least three countries.
• The online accommodation service intermediary is obliged to provide a substantive response to complaints received from accommodation service providers within 30 days.
• Contracts concluded between online accommodation service intermediaries and accommodation service providers are considered to be unfair and null and void if they contain the following terms and conditions:
  • exclusion of the right of the accommodation service provider to appeal to administrative authorities in Hungary;
  • granting of an indefinite payment term or a payment term of more than 45 days for the online accommodation service intermediary;
  • prohibiting or restricting the accommodation service provider from offering the accommodation service at a lower price than the one agreed in the contract concluded with the online accommodation service intermediary;
  • in the case of mutual payment obligations, the unilateral imposition of a payment guarantee on the accommodation service provider, in particular the provision of a deposit or other security or the application of default interest;
  • prescribing that, in the event of a settlement dispute between the online accommodation service intermediary and the accommodation service provider, the amount in dispute must in any event be paid by the accommodation service provider to the online accommodation service intermediary;
  • exclusion of the liability of the online accommodation service intermediary towards the accommodation service provider for the conduct of any third party involved by the online accommodation service intermediary in the performance of its contractual obligations;
  • exclusion of the liability of the online accommodation service intermediary to the accommodation service provider for the content of any opinion or review published by the online accommodation service intermediary and provided by a third party (i.e. consumers).

Enforcement and next steps

Compliance with the above requirements will be monitored by the Hungarian Competition Authority. For violations, the maximum amount of the applicable fine is 13% of the net turnover of the undertaking in the preceding business year on a group level.

The draft is expected to be passed into law shortly with a planned entry into force of 1 May 2024.

For more information on this draft law and data-protection regulations in Hungary, contact your CMS client partner or these CMS experts.

The article was co-authored by János Bálint.