Today, following a coordinated investigation at European level, the Consumer Protection Cooperation (CPC) Network of national consumer authorities and the European Commission notified Apple of several potentially prohibited geo-blocking practices that the CPC Network has identified on certain Apple Media Services, namely App Store, Apple Arcade, Music, iTunes Store, Books and Podcasts. The network requested Apple to align their practices with the EU’s anti-geo-blocking rules.
The CPC Network’s action against Apple is led by the competent national authorities of Belgium (Directorate General for Economic Inspection), Germany (Bundesnetzagentur) and Ireland (Competition and Consumer Protection Commission), under the coordination of the European Commission.
Key elements of the coordinated action
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.
Next steps
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.
Background information
Under the Consumer Protection Cooperation (CPC) Regulation, the national consumer authorities of the 27 EU Member States, Norway, and Iceland, form together a network (‘the CPC Network’) in order to investigate and take enforcement actions against cross-border infringements of EU consumer protection laws. The European Commission facilitates, and under certain circumstances also coordinates, such joint investigations and enforcement actions.
The Geo-blocking Regulation was adopted in 2018 to ensure better access conditions to goods and services for individuals and businesses across the EU/EEA. It applies to all app stores operating in the EU Single Market.
In July, the Commission published the results of a stock-taking exercise on the impact of the Geo-blocking Regulation and the progress made in cross-border accessibility of goods and services. The analysis found that the Geo-blocking Regulation has effectively decreased the geo-blocking practices of traders in regulated areas, but highlighted other barriers that continue to prevent seamless cross-border access to goods and services, such as remaining diverging national rules, certain taxation requirements, costs of parcel delivery services, and practices of multinational traders to arrange for the distribution of goods and services at national level.
In 2023, following a CPC coordinated action, Google committed to clarify how to browse different country versions of the Google Play Store and inform developers about their obligations under the Geo-blocking Regulation to make their apps accessible EU-wide, as well as enable consumers to use means of payment from any EU country on Google Store. The closure of the action is without prejudice to the power of national authorities to enforce compliance where concerns may remain.
In addition to the Geo-blocking Regulation, the Digital Markets Act (DMA) and Digital Services Act (DSA) also include provisions relevant for app stores. The DMA sets out several requirements for designated core platform services, such as app stores, that aim to promote contestability and fairness in the digital sector. The DSA introduces a set of clear rules at the EU level for online intermediaries, designed to ensure safety and accountability in the online environment and which are proportionate to the providers’ size. The Commission remains committed to enforcing the DSA and DMA, ensuring that both Google Play and App Store, as designated gatekeepers (under the DMA) and providers of Very Large Online Platforms (under the DSA), comply with their obligations.
More Information
Quote(s)
We are stepping up the fight against geo-blocking. No company, big or small, should unjustly discriminate customers based on their nationality, place of residence or place of establishment. Preventing geo-blocking helps consumers access the goods and services they want across Europe and strengthens the functioning and integrity of our Single Market.
Margrethe Vestager, Executive Vice-President for a Europe Fit for the Digital Age
European consumers have equal rights around the EU, so we are asking Apple to bring down barriers created by geo-blocking and to align its practices with EU law. Consumers across the EU should have equal access to goods and services. Discrimination of them by companies based on the place of residence or nationality is unacceptable.
Věra Jourová, Vice-President for Values and Transparency
The discrimination of consumers based on their nationality or place of residence is against Union law, therefore unacceptable. This is why we have rules prohibiting unjustified geo-blocking in the EU. Consumers must be able to reap the full benefits of the Single Market and should not face any obstacles while using a specific service and traveling around the EU. The Commission urges Apple to bring its practices in line with EU rules against the unjustified geo-blocking of consumers.
Didier Reynders, Commissioner for Justice
Source – EU Commission