Recital 30

A substantial connection to the Union should also be relevant to determining whether a service provider offers services in the Union. Such a substantial connection to the Union should be considered to exist where the service provider has an establishment in the Union. In the absence of such an establishment, the criterion of a substantial connection should be based on specific factual criteria such as the existence of a significant number of users in one or more Member States, or the targeting of activities towards one or more Member States. The targeting of activities towards one or more Member States should be determined on the basis of all relevant circumstances, including factors such as the use of a language or a currency generally used in that Member State, or the possibility of ordering goods or services. The targeting of activities towards a Member State could also be derived from the availability of an application (‘app’) in the relevant national app store, from the provision of local advertising or advertising in the language generally used in that Member State, or from the handling of customer relations, such as by the provision of customer service in the language generally used in that Member State. A substantial connection should also be considered to exist where a service provider directs its activities towards one or more Member States as set out in Regulation (EU) No 1215/2012 of the European Parliament and of the Council ⁽¹⁷⁾. On the other hand, provision of a service for the purpose of mere compliance with the prohibition of discrimination laid down in Regulation (EU) 2018/302 of the European Parliament and of the Council ⁽¹⁸⁾ should not, without additional grounds, be considered to be directing or targeting activities towards a given territory within the Union. The same considerations should apply when determining whether a service provider offers services in a Member State.