The European Commission published a review of the 2018 Geographic Blockade Regulation on November 30th, stating that it is seeking to make changes to the regulation that would limit such geographic blockade practices in the audiovisual sector. The review indicated that the commission aims to address the audiovisual sector and improve access to copyrighted content in the European Union in a way that adheres to the central concept of the single market in the EU. The commission plans to address the issues identified in its review in the next "Audiovisual and Media Action Plan".
As part of the plan, the commission will initiate a dialogue with audiovisual stakeholders before considering any concrete measures. Online broadcasting services such as Netflix and Amazon Prime Video employ a European Union-wide geoblock. The report noted that the average European consumer only has access to 14% of the films available online for all European Union member nations. The report indicated that "viewers in Greece have access to only 1.3% of the content available online for the European Union as a whole, while Germany has access to 43.1%.
The 2018 regulation currently applies to sectors such as e-commerce. In addition, the Commissioner for Internal Trade, Thierry Breton, stated: "The pandemic has shown how dependent we are on digital technologies in all countries of the European Union, and that cross-border access to online goods and services must be without barriers or friction for European consumers, regardless of their location, residence or nationality. This first review of the Geographic Blockade Regulation, or Geoblocking, already shows the first positive results. We will closely monitor its effects and discuss with stakeholders, especially in the Audiovisual and Media Action Plan to ensure that the industry can scale up and reach new audiences, and that consumers can fully enjoy the diversity of content not as a country, but as the European Union itself".
Source: The European Comission's website, Techcrunch
