Apple warned by EU to stop 'discriminatory' geo-blocking practices

Brief:

The European Union has warned Apple about unfair geo-blocking, accusing the company of breaking EU rules that protect consumers. The investigation found that Apple’s services limit access for EU customers depending on their location.

1. EU Accuses Apple of Geo-Blocking Practices
2. The Impact on Apple Services
3. Consequences and Penalties for Non-Compliance

EU Accuses Apple of Geo-Blocking Practices

The European Union has accused Apple of unlawfully discriminating against EU customers. This comes after an investigation found that Apple’s geo-blocking measures may violate the bloc’s consumer protection rules.

Announced via a press release on Tuesday, the European Commission and the Consumer Protection Cooperation (CPC) said a joint investigation had identified “several potentially prohibited geo-blocking practices” applied by Apple. These practices affect its App Store, iTunes Store, Arcade, Books, Podcasts, and Apple Music services. Issues include restricting consumers to payment methods issued in the same country where their Apple account was registered, preventing app downloads offered in other EU/EEA countries, and having restrictive, region-specific interfaces.

“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. They face significant challenges when attempting to change this, which is not allowed under the EU’s anti-geo-blocking rules,” the CPC Network said in the press release. These rules and other EU service regulations prohibit companies from placing “discriminatory provisions” on services that restrict EU customers based on nationality or country of residence.

The Impact on Apple Services

“We are stepping up the fight against geo-blocking. No company, big or small, should unjustly discriminate against customers based on their nationality, place of residence, or place of establishment,” European Commissioner Margrethe Vestager said in the press release.

Apple has one month to propose commitments to address the geo-blocking issues or risk facing “enforcement measures to ensure compliance.” These measures can include penalties of up to four percent of Apple’s global annual turnover. The company has already been fined €1.84 billion (about $2 billion) for antitrust violations and reportedly faces a further penalty for “anti-steering” practices, which could reach as high as $38 billion.

For the full report by Theverge, you can read the original article here:

https://www.theverge.com/2024/11/12/24294554/apple-eu-warning-geo-blocking-practices-app-store