The Digital Services Act (DSA, Regulation (EU) 2022/2065) is an EU Regulation that entered into force on November 16, 2022. Its aim is to contribute to the proper functioning of the internal market for intermediary services by setting out harmonized rules for a safe, predictable, and trusted online environment that facilitates innovation and in which fundamental rights enshrined in the Charter, including the principle of consumer protection, are effectively protected.
To the extent that BERNINA International AG ("BERNINA") is a provider of intermediary services within the meaning of the DSA, the following applies:
1. Point of contact for Member States' authorities, the Commission, and the Board, as well as for recipients of the service in accordance with Articles 11 and 12 DSA
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Denkinger GmbH & Co. KG
BERNINA Central Reporting Office
Goethestrasse 19
78600 Kolbingen, Germany
Email: [email protected]
You can contact us in German, French, Italian, or English.
2. Legal representative in accordance with Article 13 DSA
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Denkinger GmbH & Co. KG
Goethestrasse 19
78600 Kolbingen, Germany
3. Transparency report in accordance with Articles 15 and 24 DSA
The transparency report to be made available once a year in accordance with Article 15(1) DSA, containing the content moderation carried out in the respective year, will be published here after it has been prepared.
The average number of monthly active recipients of the service in the EU in the past six months in accordance with Article 24(2) DSA was considerably lower than the applicable threshold of 45 million recipients of the service.
4. Notice and action mechanisms in accordance with Article 16 DSA
Article 16 DSA states that individuals and entities must be able to notify us that our hosting services on this website – including online platforms – contain content that they consider to be illegal. Should you find unlawful, illegal, or objectionable content on BERNINA's online offerings, we would be grateful if you could report it to us. To do so, please fill out the form below or contact us by email, with "Central Reporting Office" in the subject line, at the address given below.
If you would like to submit a report, please include the following points:
- A sufficiently substantiated explanation of the reasons why you consider the information in question to be illegal content;
- A clear indication of the exact electronic location of that information, such as the exact URL or URLs, and, where necessary, additional information enabling the identification of the illegal content adapted to the type of content and to the specific type of service;
- Your name and email address (except in the case of information you consider to involve an offense concerning sexual abuse, sexual exploitation, child pornography, solicitation of children for sexual purposes, or the incitement, aiding and abetting of or attempt to commit such offenses). In these cases or other cases where you would like to submit a report anonymously, you can call us on +49 (0) 7463 990795 (in German or English) or contact us by mail at the above address (in any of the abovementioned languages);
- A statement confirming your bona fide belief that the information and allegations in your report are accurate and complete.
5. Internal complaint-handling system in accordance with Article 20 DSA
BERNINA may make decisions concerning restrictions to the content or accounts of recipients of our intermediary services within the meaning of the DSA if, in BERNINA's opinion, information made available to recipients of the service constitutes unlawful content or conflicts with the platform's general terms and conditions. BERNINA may decide to
- restrict or disable access to the service recipient's content or information,
- fully or partially suspend or terminate the provision of our services for recipients of the service,
- suspend or close the service recipient's account,
- restrict, suspend, or terminate the ability to monetarize service recipients' content
If you, as a recipient of the service, do not agree with such a decision, you may lodge a complaint against BERNINA's decision free of charge through our internal complaint-handling system. Complaints may be lodged within six months after receipt of the contested decision by sending an email to
[email protected]. Complaints will be handled in a timely, non-discriminatory, diligent, and non-arbitrary manner under the supervision of qualified staff. As soon as we have made a decision, we will inform the complainant without delay.
6. Options for out-of-court dispute settlement in accordance with Article 21 DSA
To resolve disputes relating to decisions made within the framework of our internal complaint-handling system in accordance with paragraph 5, it is possible to settle the dispute out of court before an approved out-of-court dispute settlement body within the meaning of Article 21 DSA. Approved out-of-court settlement bodies are impartial, independent entities, expressly approved by the EU Member States, that have the capacity and expertise to examine the disputes submitted to them. BERNINA shall cooperate with the out-of-court dispute settlement body to the extent required by law. However, BERNINA is not bound by the decisions of the out-of-court dispute settlement body.
The option to settle disputes out of court is without prejudice to the right of the recipient of the service concerned to initiate, at any stage, proceedings to contest the decisions before a court in accordance with the applicable law.
7. Measures and protection against misuse in accordance with Article 23 DSA
As a provider of online platforms, BERNINA shall suspend, for a reasonable period of time and after having issued a prior warning, the provision of services to recipients of the service that frequently provide manifestly illegal content. BERNINA shall also suspend, for a reasonable period of time and after having issued a prior warning, the processing of reports and complaints submitted through the notice and action mechanisms and internal complaint-handling systems by individuals or entities or by complainants that frequently submit reports or complaints that are manifestly unfounded. When deciding on suspension, BERNINA shall assess, on a case-by-case basis and in a timely, diligent, and objective manner, whether the recipient of the service, the individual, the entity or the complainant engages in misuse, taking into account all relevant facts and circumstances apparent from the information available. The circumstances that BERNINA takes into account to assess whether misuse has occurred and how long any suspension should be include at least the following:
- The absolute numbers of items of manifestly illegal content or manifestly unfounded reports or complaints, submitted within a given time frame;
- The relative proportion thereof in relation to the total number of items of information provided or reports submitted within a given time frame;
- The gravity of the misuses, including the nature of illegal content, and of its consequences;
- Where it is possible to identify it, the intention of the recipient of the service, the individual, the entity, or the complainant.