A call by European Authorities in late 2024 for Apple to align their practices with the EU’s (anti) Geo-Blocking Regulation serves as a reminder that, despite the UK’s departure from the EU, UK businesses trading in the EU still need to comply with the rules.
The EU’s Geo-Blocking Regulation prevents businesses operating in the EU from discriminating against consumers based on their location.
In some situations, traders may be justified in imposing different trading terms according to where the customer is based, for example to take account of higher shipping costs, the requirements of foreign consumer law or the need to register with foreign tax authorities. However, the Geo-Blocking Regulation is designed to prevent the unfair treatment of customers in the following ways:
- Where goods are to be sold without the trader making physical delivery of the goods: if the consumer is willing to collect the goods themselves, they should not be discriminated against if they find a better deal on a foreign website.
- Where services are supplied electronically: a foreign customer should not have to pay additional fees compared to a consumer based in the same country as the trader.
- Where services are provided in a specific physical location: the suppliers of accommodation, tickets to events, etc should not offer discounted prices to local customers which are not also available to foreign customers.
An investigation into Apple last year by the Consumer Protection Cooperation Network of national consumer authorities and the European Commission serves as a good example of how the Geo-Blocking Regulation can be breached when providing electronic services. The investigation was found that Apple’s customers were limited on what they could do based on where they first registered their account. This included:
- Apple had a different interface for each country and users were only able to use the interface for the country where they created the account.
- When making payment, customers could only make payment using accounts issued in the country they created their account.
- Customers could not download or access versions in other countries.
Apple was given one month to review their practices and propose the ways in which they would address the issues raised going forward.
Since leaving the EU, the Geo-Blocking Regulation no longer applies to the UK – meaning EU businesses do not need to consider the requirements when supplying their services to UK consumers. However, the Regulation still applies to UK businesses trading in the EU. Although the Apple case is very high profile, it acts as a reminder that even more modestly-sized businesses must comply with these rules. It is good practice for any business which may come within the scope of the Regulation to periodically review its terms and conditions, including its pricing and payment policies and delivery arrangements, to check for any potential issues.
According to research undertaken by the European Commission, geo-blocking practices have reduced in recent years (possibly one of the more positive effects of the pandemic when e-commerce was given an inevitable boost). However, the EU looks set to continue developing its rules in this area, for example to address diverging national rules which still remain between member states, the cost of parcel delivery services and the ways in which multinational companies distribute their products at national level. The EU is expected to conduct a formal review of the Geo-blocking Regulation later this year which may result in further changes to the legislation, so those businesses which come within its scope should keep abreast of developments.
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