On 28 February 2018, the European legislator adopted Regulation n°2018/302 addressing unjustified geo-blocking.
Geo-blocking consists in restricting or barring customers from realising cross-border transactions based on their nationality, place of residence or place of establishment. The Commission’s E-commerce sector inquiry has shown that such geo-blocking measures are implemented by 38 % of retailers selling goods online in the EU (Report of 10 May 2017, available here). In practice, barriers consist in blocking access to a website based on the IP address, rerouting to the website of another distributor, refusing to confirm an order, applying different prices in function of the customer’s localisation, requiring the holding of a local bank account, etc.
Regulation n°2018/302 identifies and forbids unjustified geo-blocking practices that artificially segment national markets.
Subject to the specific conditions foreseen by the Regulation, clients shall benefit from the same conditions as local clients with regard to (i) access to online interfaces (such as websites and apps), (ii) general conditions of access to goods and services (both online and offline) and (iii) non-discriminatory payment methods.
The Regulation will apply as of 3 December 2018. It is part of the E-Commerce package proposed by the Commission. The proposal on cross-border parcel delivery services and Regulation n°2006/2004 on cooperation between national authorities responsible for the enforcement of consumer protection laws are part of the same package.
For further information on this regulation and/or general legal advice relating to commercial contracts, distribution and competition law, please contact Pierre de Bandt.