Recital 27

The service providers most relevant for gathering evidence in criminal proceedings are providers of electronic communications services and specific providers of information society services that facilitate interaction between users. Thus, both groups should be covered by this Regulation. Electronic communication services are defined in Directive (EU) 2018/1972 of the European Parliament and of the Council ⁽¹⁵⁾ and include inter-personal communications services such as voice-over-IP, instant messaging and email services. This Regulation should also be applicable to information society service providers within the meaning of Directive (EU) 2015/1535 of the European Parliament and of the Council ⁽¹⁶⁾ that do not qualify as electronic communications service providers but offer their users the ability to communicate with each other or offer their users services that can be used to store or otherwise process data on their behalf. This would be in line with the terms used in the Council of Europe Convention on Cybercrime (ETS No 185), done at Budapest on 23 November 2001 (‘Budapest Convention’). Processing of data should be understood in a technical sense, meaning the creation or manipulation of data, that is to say technical operations to produce or alter data by means of computer processing power. The categories of service providers covered by this Regulation should include, for example, online marketplaces providing consumers and businesses with the ability to communicate with each other, and other hosting services, including where the service is provided via cloud computing, as well as online gaming platforms and online gambling platforms. Where an information society service provider does not provide its users with the ability to communicate with each other but only with the service provider, or does not provide the ability to store or otherwise process data, or where the storage of data is not a defining component, that is, an essential part, of the service provided to users, such as legal, architectural engineering and accounting services provided online at a distance, it should not fall within the scope of the definition of ‘service provider’ laid down in this Regulation, even if the services provided by that service provider are information society services within the meaning of Directive (EU) 2015/1535.