Manage European Union digital services act compliance information

On App Store there is the new request to declared if I am a trader operator or not under the new EU law.

As many I'm a single developer so the declaration can be reduced to "any natural person [...] who is acting [...] for purposes relating to his or her trade, business, craft or profession.", to learn more Apple links to EU commission.

I'm not 100% sure if, a single developer whit very small business and which use only Apple Store to distribute its apps, can declared "This is the account of a supplier who is not a trader".

Is someone more legal expert than me able to replay?

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Luca_65
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Looks like that for the companies, address and phone will be published. For my company, Apple already shows address, DUNS and phone/email in the Provider section in the AppStore.

They called me from the Czech Telecommunication office as told that it is up to a online platform to publish it online or not.

I don't know if this will be published for the individual account as well, my individual DSA information is still under review as they required to scan and attach business/court documents. If they publish that in the App Store, you are welcome to visit me!

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staninprague
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I'm a small entrepreneur from the Czech Republic and I also don't know if I'm a trader or not. I'm inclined to think that I'm a trader, per definition of DSA, but I'm not sure that my private address should be published in the App Store, available to everyone.

We had a story with the digital postal mail boxes here where they started to publish every digital mail box owner address, but they had a privacy related pushback. Now you can select if you want or don't want to have your address published online if you have a digital mail box.

I called to our National office of telecommunication that is established as a National Digital Services Act coordinator for Czechia and they promised to be back to me tomorrow with explanations/statement.

Posted by
staninprague
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  • Actually reading more of the act, it says in Article 22 p.4 and p.5 that provided personal information can't be shared publicly, if I understand it right. https://digitalservicesact.cc/dsa/art22.html

    "for purposes relating to his or her trade, business, craft or profession." makes every dev with app in the App Store a EU DSA trader, if the app is offered in EU? I think EU DSA goes after traceability of "content", not money.

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    staninprague

  • Thank you Staninprague to share your knowledge. About the Art. 22. p. 6 states "The online platform shall make the information [...] available to the recipients of the service [...].", but I'm not enough expert to interpret this in relation to the trade operation declaration currently requested by Apple. I'm in Italy, but perhaps the answer from your National office of telecommunication could help in dissipating the fog. I'll appreciated if you could published here when available.

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    Luca_65
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Looks like that for the companies, address and phone will be published. For my company, Apple already shows address, DUNS and phone/email in the Provider section in the AppStore.

They called me from the Czech Telecommunication office as told that it is up to a online platform to publish it online or not.

I don't know if this will be published for the individual account as well, my individual DSA information is still under review as they required to scan and attach business/court documents. If they publish that in the App Store, you are welcome to visit me!

Posted by
staninprague
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If you actually bother to read it, it's clear.

If you make any money from the app, either one-off purchase, in-app payments or a subscription, you ARE A TRADER. Whether you are trading as a company or like many, a hobbyist or individual.

This means under the draconian DMA, your personal name, home address and personal / home phone number will be visible on the App's storefront for the world to see.

No where else online does it force you to share your private information like this; it's dangerous, it's an invite to doxxing or personal attacks. You don't need to do this for social media accounts, for music accounts, for linked in or even dating sites.

But if you sell an app on the fractured App Store in the EU or to any of the 27 member states, you have to show this.

It's ******* disgusting. The people who did this should be ashamed of themselves.

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Captain Summers
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So, if an app is on sell in EU, the account holder is a trader. In this case why Apple ask for the declaration, with the risk that many developer, which are hobbyist or individual as you said Captain Summers, can made a naive wrong declaration? Perhaps the only solution to avoid having the personal data (phone number and so) be published is not to sell in EU. Both cases, naive wrong declaration and stop to sell in EU, should be avoided, by Apple in first.

(There is a reason if many EU citizen are disgusted.)

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Luca_65
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At the end I removed my app from the EU market.

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Luca_65
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At the end I removed my app from the EU market.

Does this permit you to not supply your pone number (etc) to Apple?

Posted by
endecotp
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  • Yes, I set "This is not a trader account.", which is for the EU countries only.

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    Luca_65
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