The inquiry – a commercial practice suppliers that are on-line block user access to digital content services based on that user or the buying of goods ’s geographic place.

38% of consumer goods retailers gather place associated information for geo-blocking goals. Occasionally using geo-blocking represents a commercial choice; for example, where a company owner doesn’t have the administrative capacity to accept an extensive assortment of payment systems that are foreign. Also, some big retailers take the view that to sell small amounts of goods to customers in states where the vulnerability for legal obligation is distinct and where they don’t have any delivery services makes no commercial sense. The EU nevertheless found that a possible limitation was demanded by contractual territorial limitations on competition. These constraints ranged from outright prohibitions on selling goods outside one or more EU member states to subtle cross border constraints. The EU increased concerns of compatibility with EU competition law, as these constraints were occasionally enforced to keep cost differentials in different member states. It’s now reviewing whether following enforcement actions is needed – a choice that may necessitate an evaluation of how significant territorial exclusive arrangements are to marketplace participants.

Nearly two thirds of digital content providers execute geo-blocking (typically using IP address verification) to restrict the accessibility by users found in other member states to their content. 59% of providers said contractual demands within their arrangements with suppliers as the reasoning behind their geo-blocking practices. The EU concluded that a case by case evaluation of licensing agreements was needed to ascertain the existence of any EU competition law problems.

A retailer who executes geo-blocking on its own web site is not likely to make up an EU competition law infringement, particularly when that retailer will not have market power. The Commission is primarily concerned with their vendors or retailers which might demand geo and arrangements between producers of goods or licencors of digital content -blocking on retailer or the vendor.