Fictional product, illustrative draft. Not legal advice.
Annotations¶
Law as of: 2026-10-20. For every document in this set: the applicability table (which instrument applies, does not apply, or is undetermined), the clause-by-clause legal basis, and the checklist tables run against the drafts.
Part A: Applicability table¶
| Instrument | Applies / does not apply / undetermined | Provision deciding the classification | Note |
|---|---|---|---|
| Consumer Rights Directive 2011/83/EU (withdrawal right, order-button wording, pre-contract information) | Does not apply to account creation or core use (no price in money) | CRD applies to a sales, service or digital-content contract for a price (Art. 3(1)); withdrawn as settled only if the data-as-price question (below) is resolved against DCD coverage: see open point 19 | If Shutterline introduces a paid tier, this reverses |
| Digital Content Directive (EU) 2019/770 (data-as-price, conformity, Art. 19 change rules) | Undetermined | Art. 3(1): applies where the trader processes personal data for a purpose beyond supplying the service or a legal duty; ad-funded personalisation may or may not count | Open point 19; drafted on the position that it does not apply, flagged for counsel |
| Unfair Contract Terms Directive 93/13/EEC | Applies (EU consumer contract exists: creating a free account is still a consumer contract under § 312 Abs. 1a BGB / Art. 3(1) CRD reasoning extended to data processing) | Consumer defined at Art. 2(b) | Drafted into changes-to-terms, liability, governing-law clauses |
| Unfair Commercial Practices Directive 2005/29/EC | Applies to Shutterline's advertising and sign-up flow | Commercial practice, Art. 2(d) | Drafted into advertising and marketing sections |
| e-Commerce Directive 2000/31/EC | Applies | Shutterline is an information society service established in the EU | Drafted into acceptance-and-formation (Art. 10, 11) and the standing Impressum-equivalent duty (Art. 5) |
| Digital Services Act (Regulation (EU) 2022/2065), Art. 1 to 32 | Applies in full, as a hosting service that is also an online platform | Art. 3(i): a hosting service that stores and disseminates recipient-provided information to the public, with no minor-ancillary-feature carve-out plausible since content sharing is the core product | Whether the Art. 20 to 24 Section (vs. only Art. 14 to 18) applies turns on micro/small enterprise status: open point 2 |
| DSA Art. 33 onward (VLOP) | Undetermined | Designation criteria sit outside this skill's Art. 1 to 32 file | Open point 3; not drafted |
| P2B Regulation (EU) 2019/1150 | Does not apply | Shutterline does not let consumers conclude distance contracts with traders through the platform (Art. 1(2)) | No marketplace feature exists on the facts given |
| GDPR (lawful bases, privacy notice, rights) | Applies | Lumenfolk is the controller for EU users' personal data | Drafted into privacy notice, cookie notice, and terms (Section 1 onward) |
| ePrivacy Directive / TDDDG (cookies) | Applies | Art. 5(3); § 25 TDDDG reaches any device-storage/access regardless of personal-data status | Drafted into cookie notice |
| Impressum / DDG §§ 5, 6 | Applies | Lumenfolk is a commercial digital-service provider in Germany | Drafted as a standalone Impressum document |
| GDPR Art. 8 (child consent) | Applies, cleared by the 16-year minimum age | Shutterline's stated minimum age (16) sits at or above every member state's own floor in the 13 to 16 band | Germany's own chosen figure within the band is not itself confirmed (open point 9), but 16 clears the band regardless of which figure applies |
| Software Directive / software licence rules | Does not apply | Shutterline is a hosted web/app service; no software copy is licensed to the user for installation in the sense the Directive addresses | No EULA drafted |
| CCPA / CPRA (California) | Undetermined | Thresholds in Cal. Civ. Code § 1798.140(d) are not met or ruled out by the facts given | Open point 4; CalOPPA drafted as definitely applicable instead |
| CalOPPA | Applies | No threshold; applies to any operator collecting PII from California residents | Drafted into privacy notice §9 |
| Virginia VCDPA, Colorado CPA, Connecticut CTDPA, Texas TDPSA | Undetermined | Thresholds depend on a per-state user count this skill was not given | Open point 5; flagged, not drafted in full |
| COPPA | Does not apply on these facts | Minimum age is 16, above COPPA's 13 floor, and nothing suggests the service is directed to children or that Lumenfolk has actual knowledge of under-13 users | Confirmed by age-gate design, not merely assumed |
| Section 230 (47 U.S.C. § 230) | Applies | Shutterline is an interactive computer service carrying user content | Drafted into terms (content, moderation) and content-moderation policy |
| DMCA § 512 safe harbors | Applies | Shutterline stores material at a user's direction | Drafted into terms (IP section) and notice-and-complaint-procedures |
| CAN-SPAM | Applies to the direct-messaging feature | Shutterline has a messaging feature capable of carrying a commercial electronic message | Drafted into acceptable-use clause |
| Federal Arbitration Act / US arbitration clause | Undetermined (commercial choice) | Not a matter of applicability but of drafting choice | Open point 11; left blank pending Lumenfolk's decision |
| California Consumers Legal Remedies Act, Cal. Civ. Code § 1668/§ 1751 | Applies to any California consumer and any California-governed liability clause | Statutory scope is not optional for a California consumer | Drafted as a carve-out in the liability clause |
Part B: Clause-by-clause legal basis¶
| Document / section | Legal basis | Purpose |
|---|---|---|
| ToS §1 Acceptance | Art. 10, 11 Directive 2000/31/EC; § 312j, 312m BGB (if ever paid); 15 U.S.C. § 7001 (ESIGN); Nguyen v. Barnes & Noble, Berman v. Freedom Fin. Network, Chabolla v. ClassPass | Establish that a binding agreement forms, with the EU/German disclosure duties and the US notice-and-assent test both met |
| ToS §2 No charge | Art. 3(1) Directive (EU) 2019/770 (data-as-price scope test) | State the free-service position and flag the data-as-price open question |
| ToS §3 Changes | Annex (j), (k), 2(b) UCTD; BGH XI ZR 26/20; Heckman v. Live Nation | Prevent a silence-based or unqualified change mechanism |
| ToS §4 Account/suspension | Art. 23 Regulation (EU) 2022/2065; 47 U.S.C. § 230(c), (d) | State the misuse-suspension and Section 230 basis for account actions |
| ToS §5 User content | Art. 14(1), 6(1)-(3), 8 Regulation (EU) 2022/2065; 47 U.S.C. § 230(c)(1), (f)(3) | License grant scoped to operational need; hosting-exemption and publisher-immunity statements kept separate |
| ToS §6 Acceptable use | Art. 14(1), (4), 8 Regulation (EU) 2022/2065; 47 U.S.C. § 230(c)(2); 15 U.S.C. § 7704(a) | Conduct rules, matched to CAN-SPAM for the messaging feature |
| ToS §7 Moderation pointer | Art. 16, 17, 20, 21, 23 Regulation (EU) 2022/2065 | Cross-reference to the full moderation policy |
| ToS §8 IP | Art. 8 Directive 2009/24/EC; 17 U.S.C. § 512(c), (g), (i), (c)(2) | Trademark/copyright ownership statement; DMCA notice-and-takedown mechanics |
| ToS §9 Direct messages | Art. 14 Regulation (EU) 2022/2065 (applied to a private communication feature) | State how moderation applies to a private, not public, content type |
| ToS §10 Advertising | Art. 26(1)-(3), 28(2) Regulation (EU) 2022/2065 | Ad-labelling and profiling restrictions |
| ToS §11 Liability | Annex (a), (b) UCTD; § 309 Nr. 7 BGB; Cal. Civ. Code § 1668, § 1751; McGill v. Citibank | Liability floor and US disclaimer/cap |
| ToS §12 Governing law | Rome I Art. 6; Brussels Ia Art. 17, 18, 19 | EU dual-forum statement; US home-state choice |
| ToS §13 Dispute resolution | Art. 21 Regulation (EU) 2022/2065 (EU); 9 U.S.C. §§ 401, 402 (US, left open) | Out-of-court settlement route for EU; US arbitration deliberately left blank pending instruction |
| Content & Moderation Policy | Art. 14, 16, 17, 20, 21, 22, 23 Regulation (EU) 2022/2065; 17 U.S.C. § 512(i) | Full moderation and misuse-suspension policy with worked examples |
| Notice and Complaint Procedures | Art. 16(1)-(6), 17, 20, 21 Regulation (EU) 2022/2065; 17 U.S.C. § 512(c)(3), (g) | Step-by-step user-facing flows |
| Privacy Notice | Art. 5, 6, 7, 9, 12, 13, 14, 17, 21 GDPR; EDPB Guidelines 1/2024 Example 5 (ad personalisation needs consent, not legitimate interest); Cal. Civ. Code §§ 1798.100, 1798.130, 1798.135; Bus. & Prof. Code § 22575 (CalOPPA) | Lawful-basis table, rights list, US state layer |
| Cookie Notice | Art. 5(3) Directive 2002/58/EC; Planet49; EDPB Cookie Banner Taskforce report; § 25, 26 TDDDG | Opt-in, per-purpose consent model; US opt-out note |
| Impressum | § 5 DDG | Identity and contact disclosure |
Part C: Checklist tables¶
EU B2C checklist (references/checklists/eu-b2c.md)¶
Most items in this checklist concern a priced sales/service/digital-content contract (order button, withdrawal, price display, repair). Because Shutterline has no price in money and (on the drafted position) no DCD-qualifying data-as-price contract, most items are not applicable on the current facts. The items that remain relevant:
| Item | Status | Evidence |
|---|---|---|
| Trader, consumer and contract classified | Met | ToS preamble; annotations Part A |
| Provider's name, address, email, trade register, VAT rendered on a standing page | Partial | Impressum drafted; trade register and VAT number are placeholders pending client data (open point 10) |
| Every price statement states clearly whether tax/delivery included | Not applicable | No price |
| Order button wording | Not applicable | No paid order flow exists |
| Withdrawal right and model form | Not applicable (pending open point 19) | No price/no DCD-qualifying contract on drafted position |
| Change-of-terms: valid reason, notice, exit right | Met | ToS §3 |
| Governing law mandatory-protection disclosure | Met | ToS §12 |
| Jurisdiction clause states dual forum, not a single named court | Met | ToS §12 |
| Marketplace-specific items (ranking disclosure, trader onboarding) | Not applicable | Not a marketplace |
German AGB checklist (references/checklists/de-agb.md)¶
| Item | Status | Evidence |
|---|---|---|
| Counterparty classified as Verbraucher | Met | ToS preamble; 16+ age gate |
| AGB inclusion (actual pointer, reasonable chance to learn content) | Met | ToS §1 EU/Germany module: link placed immediately next to the assent control |
| No clause lets Lumenfolk change terms through silence with no substantive cap | Met | ToS §3 Germany module, citing BGH XI ZR 26/20 |
| § 309 Nr. 7 liability floor (death/personal injury/gross negligence) | Met | ToS §11 Germany module |
| § 309 Nr. 12 no burden-shifting to consumer's disadvantage | Met | No indemnity clause included for EU/German consumers (see Part D below) |
| Order-button wording (§ 312j) | Not applicable | No paid order flow |
| Kündigungsschaltfläche (§ 312k) | Not applicable | No continuing paid contract exists |
| Impressum (§ 5 DDG) | Open | Trade register/VAT placeholders: open point 10 |
| VSBG § 36 standing dispute-resolution notice | Fixed during conflict check | ToS §14; Impressum "Hinweis zur Streitbeilegung": placeholder text pending the client's actual participation decision |
Platform / UGC checklist (references/checklists/platform-ugc.md)¶
| Item | Status | Evidence |
|---|---|---|
| Service classified (hosting / online platform) | Met | Annotations Part A: online platform under Art. 3(i) |
| Micro/small enterprise status checked | Open | Open point 2; drafted the fuller duty set as the safer default |
| Terms state restrictions, moderation policy, complaint-system rules in clear language | Met | Content & Moderation Policy §§1 to 2 |
| Notice-and-action mechanism built to the four-element standard | Met | Notice and Complaint Procedures §1 |
| Statement of reasons covers all Art. 17(3) elements | Met | Content & Moderation Policy §3; Notice and Complaint Procedures §2 |
| Internal complaint system: 6-month window, human-supervised, mandatory reversal | Met | Content & Moderation Policy §6; Notice and Complaint Procedures §3 |
| Out-of-court settlement route, asymmetric fee rule | Met | Content & Moderation Policy §7; Notice and Complaint Procedures §4 |
| Misuse-suspension policy with concrete examples and stated duration | Met | Content & Moderation Policy §8 |
| Trusted flagger priority routing, no unilateral de-prioritisation | Met | Content & Moderation Policy §5 |
| Repeat-infringer policy; designated DMCA agent published and filed | Partial | Terms §8 and Content & Moderation Policy §10 state the policy; the designated agent's actual name/address is a placeholder pending client data |
| Section 230 clause scoped to content not created/developed by Lumenfolk | Met | ToS §4, §5, §6; Content & Moderation Policy §10 |
| Ad labelling (Art. 26) | Met | ToS §10 |
| No clause asserts unconditional non-liability for user content | Met | ToS §5 EU module |
| No clause suggests blanket pre-screening/general monitoring | Met | ToS §5, §6 EU modules |
| Trader onboarding / marketplace duties (Art. 29 to 32, P2B) | Not applicable | Not a marketplace |
| VLOP-specific duties (Art. 14(5)-(6), 24(2)-(4)) | Not covered | Open point 3; out of this skill's scope |
Privacy notice checklist: GDPR (references/checklists/privacy-notice-gdpr.md)¶
| Item | Status | Evidence |
|---|---|---|
| Every processing purpose has its own named Art. 6(1) basis | Met | Privacy Notice §1 table |
| Legitimate interest not used for behavioural ad personalisation | Met | Privacy Notice §1, citing EDPB Guidelines 1/2024 Example 5 |
| Consent requested separately per purpose, unticked by default | Met | Cookie Notice §2 |
| Right to erasure heading uses fixed GDPR title | Met | Privacy Notice §4 |
| Direct-marketing objection stated separately, unconditional | Met | Privacy Notice §4 |
| International transfer disclosure | Open | Open point 7; placeholder pending vendor confirmation |
| Child consent / age floor | Met | Privacy Notice §7; 16-year minimum clears the Art. 8 band |
| Cookie consent: purpose-level granularity, reject option, withdrawal | Met | Cookie Notice §2 |
Privacy notice checklist: US (references/checklists/privacy-notice-us.md)¶
| Item | Status | Evidence |
|---|---|---|
| CCPA/CalOPPA threshold determination | Open | Open point 4; CalOPPA drafted as definitely applicable; CCPA content drafted conservatively pending threshold check |
| CalOPPA content items (DNT response, other-party collection, review process, change notice, effective date) | Met | Privacy Notice §9 |
| Virginia/Colorado/Connecticut/Texas threshold determination | Open | Open point 5 |
| Children's layer (COPPA) | Not applicable | 16-year minimum age, no actual-knowledge trigger on these facts |
| No clause waives a state privacy-law right or remedy | Met | No such clause drafted |
Part D: Gaps identified during the checklist run¶
- VSBG § 36 standing dispute-resolution notice: the German AGB checklist flags this as a standing duty for a trader maintaining a website or standard terms, independent of whether Shutterline has ever had an actual consumer dispute. This was missing from the first draft and has been added to both the Terms of Service (§14) and the Impressum, as a placeholder stating non-participation, since the content of that notice depends on a commercial decision (whether Lumenfolk in fact wants to participate in such proceedings) that the client has not stated. Confirm the actual position before publication; if Lumenfolk wants to participate, the placeholder is replaced with the named body's address and website, not merely a different sentence.
- Designated DMCA agent and Impressum register/VAT details: both are placeholders pending data the client has not yet supplied (see open point 10 and the Impressum document itself).