Increasingly, concerns have also been raised by competent national authorities, civil society organisations, affected parties and the Union institutions in relation to certain categories of illegal content, such as illegal hate speech or terrorist content online, or problematic activities online. Legal gaps have been identified in respect of content that is harmful but not illegal. In particular, systemic problems arising from the dissemination of illegal content online and from the amplification of negative effects for fundamental rights have come to the fore. Certain providers of intermediary services can play a particularly significant role in the amplification and shaping of online public discourse and the facilitation of economic transactions. They can become the principal gateway for recipients of the service to access information and to participate in online commerce, thereby weakening the digital single market. Ensuring the safe, trustworthy and accountable use of such services is particularly important, not only for European citizens but also, and more generally, for society as a whole, including for online commerce.