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Under the e-Evidence package, a ‘service provider’ means any natural or legal person that provides one or more of the following categories of services, (with the exception of financial services as referred in Directive 2006/123/EC):

a) electronic communications services. Examples of service providers that fall under this category include internet access services, interpersonal communications services and service dedicated to the transmission of signals

b) internet domain name and IP numbering services. Examples of service providers that fall under this category include IP address assignment, domain name registries and registrars, and domain name-related privacy and proxy services

c) other information society services that enable their users to a) communicate with each other, or b) make it possible to store or process data on behalf of their users. Examples of service providers that fall under this category include online marketplaces that allow consumers and businesses to communicate with each other, hosting services, including those provided via cloud computing, as well as online gaming and gambling platforms.

The package applies to all service providers, as defined in the e-Evidence package, offering services to users in the European Union, regardless of whether they are based in the EU or outside the EU.

Please find a link to Eurojust’s guidance on the definition of ‘Service Providers Under Key Legal Frameworks on e-Evidence’.

DISCLAIMER: It is the ultimate responsibility of the service provider to ensure that they are compliant with their obligations under the e-Evidence Regulation (EU) 2023/1543 and the Criminal Justice (International Cooperation Office) Bill 2026 transposing Directive (EU) 2023/1544. These guidelines are intended to assist service providers in their understanding of and compliance with those obligations. These guidelines do not constitute secondary legislation. Service providers must always refer directly to the legislation when ascertaining their statutory obligations. These guidelines do not replace or override any legal and/or regulatory requirements. In the event of a discrepancy between these guidelines and the EU and national e-Evidence legislation, the legislation will apply. These guidelines are not exhaustive and do not set limitations on the steps to be taken by service providers to meet their statutory obligations

Under Regulation (EU) 2023/1543 (“the e-Evidence Regulation”) a ‘service provider’ is defined as the following:

any natural or legal person that provides one or more of the following categories of services, with the exception of financial services referred to in Article 2(2), point (b), of Directive 2006/123/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council:

a) electronic communications services as defined in Article 2, point (4), of Directive (EU) 2018/1972;

b) internet domain name and IP numbering services, such as IP address assignment, domain name registry, domain name registrar and domain name-related privacy and proxy services;

c) other information society services as referred to in Article 1(1), point (b), of Directive (EU) 2015/1535 that:

(i) enable their users to communicate with each other; or

(ii) make it possible to store or otherwise process data on behalf of the users to whom the service is provided, provided that the storage of data is a defining component of the service provided to the user;

‘offering services on the territory of a Member State’ means:

(a) enabling natural or legal persons in a Member State to use the services listed in point (1); and

(b) having a substantial connection, based on specific factual criteria, to the Member State referred to in point (a); such a substantial connection is to be considered to exist where the service provider has an establishment in that Member State, or, in the absence of such an establishment, where there is a significant number of users in that Member State, or where there is targeting of activities towards that Member State;

‘offering services in the Union’ means:

(a) enabling natural or legal persons in a Member State to use the services listed in point (1); and

(b) having a substantial connection, based on specific factual criteria, to the Member State referred to in point (a); such a substantial connection is to be considered to exist where the service provider has an establishment in a Member State, or, in the absence of such an establishment, where there is a significant number of users in one or more Member States, or where there is targeting of activities towards one or more Member States.