Court of Justice 10 April 2018, Case C-320/16: Judgment of the Court (Grand Chamber) of 10 April 2018 (request for a preliminary ruling from the Tribunal de grande instance de Lille — France) — Criminal proceedings against Uber France SAS (Reference for a preliminary ruling — Services in the field of transport — Directive 2006/123/EC — Services in the internal market — Directive 98/34/EC — Information society services — Rule on information society services — Definition — Intermediation service making it possible, by means of a smartphone application and for remuneration, to put non-professional drivers using their own vehicle in contact with persons who wish to make urban journeys — Criminal penalties)

Also known as

In Case C-320/16, the Court of Justice (Grand Chamber) ruled on a preliminary reference from the Tribunal de grande instance de Lille concerning criminal proceedings against Uber France SAS for operating an unlicensed smartphone-based passenger transport intermediation service. The decisive legal issue was whether a national criminal provision targeting such an intermediation service constitutes a rule on 'information society services' within the meaning of Directive 98/34/EC or falls within the transport services exclusion under Article 2(2)(d) of Directive 2006/123/EC. The Court held that such a provision concerns a 'service in the field of transport' where the intermediation service forms an integral part of an overall service whose principal element is transport, and is therefore excluded from the scope of both Directives.AI