EU calls on Apple to end geo-blocking on media services

(BRUSSELS) - The EU Commission and a network of national consumer authorities notified tech giant Apple Tuesday of several potentially prohibited geo-blocking practices identified on certain Apple Media Services.

The Consumer Protection Cooperation (CPC) Network of national consumer authorities identified Apple Media Services including App Store, Apple Arcade, Music, iTunes Store, Books and Podcasts and requested Apple to align their practices with the EU's anti-geo-blocking rules.

Consumers across the EU should have equal access to goods and services, said EC vice-president Vera Jourova: "Discrimination of them by companies based on the place of residence or nationality is unacceptable."

The CPC Network found a number of limitations on Apple Media Services which, according to the network's assessment unlawfully discriminate European consumers based on their place of residence. Consumers face limitations when it comes to:

• Online access: Apple Media Services have a different interface for different countries in the EU/EEA. In the app version of these services, consumers are only allowed to access the interface made for the country where they have registered their Apple account and face significant challenges when attempting to change this, which is not allowed under EU's anti-geo-blocking rules.
• Payment methods: When making paid purchases on Apple Media Services, consumers are only allowed to use means of payment (such as a credit/debit card) issued in the country where they registered their Apple account.
• Downloading: Since App Store does not allow consumers to access the version of another EU/EEA country, consumers are not allowed to download the apps offered in other countries. Consumers should be able to download apps offered in other EU/EEA countries when they travel to or temporarily stay in that country.

The legal obligations that the CPC Network is invoking vis-à-vis Apple can be found in the Geo-blocking Regulation and the Services Directive. The Geo-blocking Regulation prohibits unjustified discrimination between EU customers on the basis of their nationality, residence, or place of establishment when they want to buy goods and services from traders located in a different Member State. The Services Directive requires that general conditions of access to a service do not contain discriminatory provisions relating to the nationality or place of residence of the service recipient, unless directly justified by objective criteria.

Apple now has one month to reply to the CPC Network's findings and propose commitments on how they will address the identified geo-blocking practices. Depending on Apple's reply, the CPC Network may enter into a dialogue with the company. If Apple fails to address the concerns raised by the CPC Network, national authorities can take enforcement measures to ensure compliance. This is without prejudice to the power of national authorities to take enforcement measures in ongoing national proceedings.

Consumer Protection Cooperation (CPC) Network

Coordinated actions of the CPC Network

Consumer Protection Cooperation Regulation

Geo-blocking Regulation

Evaluation of Geo-blocking Regulation