Despite some progress and a certain rise in awareness of the issues, concerns about unjustified geo-blocking in e-commerce and e-services still persist in Europe, according to a new report by the European Court of Auditors (ECA), published on Monday 20 January.
This geographical blocking, which limits access by consumers in one Member State to online services in another, “hinders the EU digital single market”, according to the ECA.
While the rules in this area, as set out in the 2018 regulation, are “balanced” in their design, their application is open to criticism, the European auditors argue.
On the subject of B2B transactions, cross-border deliveries, discrimination linked to means of payment or access to copyright-protected content, the legislation would benefit from being “clarified”, according to the report, in order to avoid the current “unclarity in its application”.
The ECA also considers that the legislation’s uneven application, embodied in the fact that “measures and fines varied widely between member states”, poses a problem for its effectiveness and legitimacy.
“Rules on jurisdiction [are] not sufficiently clear [and] it is unclear which member state (that of the customer or the trader) should impose penalties for infringements”, deplores the ECA, which warns that these “divergent approaches risk distorting the conditions of competition within the single market”.
The 2018 Geographical Blocking Regulation aimed to tackle this “discrimination” based on nationality or place of residence. This regulation is due to be formally assessed by the Commission this year, which has stated that it will “take into account” the auditors’ recommendations.
They strongly recommend examining the possibility of extending the anti-geo-blocking rules to sectors that they do not yet cover, such as audiovisual services.
This possibility, also raised by MEPs on the Internal Market Committee (see EUROPE 13480/1), still needs to be discussed, according to the Commission.
The ECA, for its part, is recommending that a study be carried out by 2026 to determine whether it is necessary to extend the scope of the regulations.
To see the report, go to https://aeur.eu/f/f4j (Original version in French by Isalia Stieffatre)