A committee of the European Parliament has put forward a draft proposal on “unjustified geo-blocking,” setting out specific situations under which online retailers should be prevented from adjusting their prices and other conditions from one member country of the European Union to another. The European Commission had previously publicized its own stance on the matter, in May 2016.
The latest move paves the way for three-party negotiations to take place between parliamentarians, the Commission and the European Council. They have already been scheduled for May and June, and the Commission is targeting a finalization of the process by the end of the year.
Geo-blocking is a key issue for the European Commission as it strives to implement a single digital market across the EU. Under the draft adopted by lawmakers earlier this week, the ban would apply to online retailers selling a variety of consumer goods as well as streaming services marketing copyrighted contents (excluding audiovisual contents and some other exceptions), and service providers such as car rental companies.
They would generally be prevented from automatically redirecting customers to their domestic website without their consent. Consumers would be allowed to buy products online even if the retailer does not deliver them to their country of residence, although there would be no obligation for the retailer to organize the delivery.
Fesi, the federation of the European sporting goods industry, formed a digital working group last year to take part in discussions around such issues. Fesi has suggested in the past that varying national legislations on subjects such as VAT make it compelling to use at least some form of geo-blocking.
