New EU Regulation for Geo-blocking in Force

End of February 2018, the EU Parliament and the European Council of Ministers approved a geo-blocking regulation that became effective on March 22, 2018. The regulation is binding as of December 3, 2018, following the end of a 9-month transition period. What is geoblocking? Geo-blocking prevents online-users from ordering and buying products or services from websites in other EU member states. The geographical location of the user is determined through the IP-address, which in turn determines whether access is approved, denied, or if the user is redirected to another local website. What is the goal of the regulation? The new regulation aims at protecting users from price- and sales-term discrimination when ordering products and services online from other EU countries. Are there exceptions to the geo-blocking ban? Services that mainly involve attaining access to and using contents under copyright (music streaming, e-books, online games) are currently excluded. What is exactly regulated?

• Providers are prohibited from denying users access to online-interface based on nationality or place of residence, through technological means or otherwise.
• Furthermore, providers are not allowed to redirect users to other online-platforms with different contents without users’ prior authorisation.
• In addition, providers are not allowed to use different general terms and conditions, as well as different terms of payment for the sale of products or services.
• For the sale of goods and services, providers are not obliged to carry out delivery, or deliver on their own behalf across the borders to the customer’s member state.

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