Geoblocking: is the end in sight through ... competition law? Possibly not
Tackling - and possibly getting rid of - "unjustified" geoblocking , ie the practice(s) of restricting or denying access to certain services or content outside a specified territory, is one the pillars of the Digital Single Market Strategy (DSMS) [ here and here ] that the EU Commission released last year. The EU Commission announced that it would consider action not only in relation to geoblocking in the ecommerce sector but also in the area of copyright. In relation to the latter the DSMS stated that: "when trying to access or purchase online copyright-protected content from another Member State, consumers are sometimes told that it is unavailable or cannot be accessed from their own country. This situation is partly linked to the territoriality of copyright and difficulties associated with the clearing of rights. In other cases, the lack of availability and/or access may result from contractual restrictions between ...