Article 17 Legal representative

1.   A hosting service provider which does not have its main establishment in the Union shall designate, in writing, a natural or legal person as its legal representative in the Union for the purpose of the receipt of, compliance with and the enforcement of removal orders and decisions issued by the competent authorities.

2.   The hosting service provider shall provide its legal representative with the necessary powers and resources to comply with those removal orders and decisions and to cooperate with the competent authorities.

The legal representative shall reside or be established in one of the Member States where the hosting service provider offers its services.

3.   The legal representative may be held liable for infringements of this Regulation, without prejudice to any liability of or legal actions against the hosting service provider.

4.   The hosting service provider shall notify the competent authority referred to in point (d) of Article 12(1) of the Member State where its legal representative resides or is established of the designation.

The hosting service provider shall make the information about the legal representative publicly available.