Information Society Services refer to those services which are “provided for remuneration at a distance, via electronic means, through devices of data elaboration and memorization and at the individual request of a recipient of services (endnote in italics: Directive 98/34/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 22 June 1998)
These kinds of services cover a wide range of economic online activities, such as online selling of items, services which provide online information and commercial communications, those which supply research tools, data access and retrieval.
This category also contains the transmission through a communication network, the supply of an access to a communication network, the storage of information given by a recipient of a service and video on demand services as well as the dispatching of commercial communications via electronic mail.
Sound and television broadcastings services are not included in the Information Society Services because they are not supplied at individual request. The use of electronic mail and equivalent means of communication are not included in the services above even if they are employed in order to conclude a contract. Besides, each activity which cannot be provided at distance or via electronic means does not fall into this category.

Editor: Valeria CHIOMA