The European Union’s Court of Justice has dismissed Zalando’s challenge to its designation as a “very large online platform” (VLOP), the court announced Wednesday
The European Commission had classified Zalando as a VLOP based on its substantial user base, triggering additional obligations related to consumer protection and the tackling of illegal content Zalando had contested this designation, arguing the Commission’s assessment of its active user numbers was inaccurate
The online retailer maintained that the number of users exposed to information from third-party sellers on its platform was lower than the Commission’s figures suggested However, the court found Zalando failed to demonstrate which users were actually exposed to this third-party seller information, upholding the Commission’s calculations which estimated over 83 million active users
The court also rejected Zalando’s arguments that the provisions of the Digital Services Act (DSA) violated principles of legal certainty, equal treatment and proportionality It emphasized that marketplaces with a large user base have the potential to disseminate dangerous or illegal products (Case T-348/23)