On Tuesday, 12 November, the European Commission announced that it had noticed Apple employs several geo-blocking practices that are potentially prohibited by EU regulations.
These geo-blocking practices—which restrict online access, payment methods, and downloads for users depending on the location from which they are connecting—are present in a number of Apple Media Services, including the App Store, Apple Arcade, Apple Music, iTunes Store, [Apple] Books, and [Apple] Podcasts.
This announcement is the result of an investigation jointly conducted with the Consumer Protection Cooperation Network (CPC Network), national consumer protection authorities, and the European Commission.
The legal obligations that the CPC Network is invoking against Apple are in the Geo-blocking Regulation and the Services Directive.
Apple now has one month to respond to the CPC Network’s findings and propose steps it will undertake to remedy the identified complaints.
Depending on the Apple brand’s response, the CPC Network will be able to open a dialogue with the company. If Apple does not respond to the concerns raised, national authorities may take enforcement measures of their own.
Back in 2023—following a CPC coordinated action—Google undertook to make its applications accessible throughout the EU and agreed to allow consumers to use methods of payment from any EU country in the Google Store. (Original version in French by Isalia Stieffatre)