{
  "url": "https://openlegislation.uk/draft-electronic-commerce-directive-trafficking-people-for-exploitation-regulations-2013/note",
  "json_url": "https://openlegislation.uk/draft-electronic-commerce-directive-trafficking-people-for-exploitation-regulations-2013/note.json",
  "legislation": "ukdsi/2013/9780111533680",
  "legislation_title": "The Electronic Commerce Directive (Trafficking People for Exploitation) Regulations 2013",
  "legislation_url": "https://openlegislation.uk/draft-electronic-commerce-directive-trafficking-people-for-exploitation-regulations-2013",
  "path": "note",
  "kind": "note",
  "number": null,
  "heading": "Explanatory note",
  "text": "(This note is not part of the Regulations)\nThese Regulations give effect to Directive 2000/31/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 8th June 2000 on certain legal aspects of information society services, in particular electronic commerce, in the Internal Market (Directive on electronic commerce) (“the Directive”) in relation to the offence of trafficking people for sexual exploitation contained in section 59A of the Sexual Offences Act 2003 and the offence of trafficking people for labour and other exploitation in section 4 of the Asylum and Immigration (Treatment of Claimants, etc.) Act 2004 (“trafficking offences”), following amendments made by the Protection of Freedoms Act 2012.\nThe Directive (which has been incorporated into the Agreement on the European Economic Area) seeks to contribute to the proper functioning of the internal market by ensuring the free movement of information society services “(ISS”) between EEA states. Article 3 provides for the regulation of ISS on a “country of origin” basis and Articles 12 to 14 require EEA states to limit, in specified circumstances, the liability of intermediary ISS providers when they provide mere conduit, caching or hosting services.\nRegulations 3 and 4 ensure that trafficking offences apply on a country of origin basis. Regulation 3 extends the application of the offences so that they apply to ISS providers established in England and Wales not only where they provide ISS in England and Wales, but also where they provide ISS in EEA states other than the UK. Regulation 4 means that service providers who are established in an EEA state other than the UK can only be prosecuted for a trafficking offence where the conditions laid down in Article 3(4) of the Directive are satisfied.\nRegulations 5, 6 and 7 create exceptions from liability for trafficking offences for intermediary ISS providers when they provide mere conduit, caching or hosting services in the circumstances specified by Articles 12, 13 and 14 of the Directive.\nRegulation 8 requires the Secretary of State to review the operation and effect of these Regulations and publish a report within five years after they come into force and within every five years after that. Following a review, it will fall to the Secretary of State to consider whether the Regulations should remain as they are, or be revoked or be amended. A further instrument would be needed to revoke the Regulations or to amend them.",
  "extent": null,
  "status": null,
  "version": "current",
  "annotations": [],
  "outstanding_effects": [],
  "provenance": {
    "source": "legislation.gov.uk",
    "source_url": "https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukdsi/2013/9780111533680/note",
    "retrieved_at": "2026-10-30T14:50:31.937878+00:00"
  },
  "licence": "Open Government Licence v3.0",
  "licence_url": "https://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/doc/open-government-licence/version/3/",
  "attribution": "Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. Source: legislation.gov.uk, The National Archives."
}