The (final) regulation prohibiting unjustified geo-blocking and other forms of geo-discrimination: a game changer for e-commerce within the EU?

Published

Mar 31 2018

Written By

Pauline Kuipers

Partner
Netherlands

I am a partner in our NL office, based in The Hague, where I was one of its founding lawyers in 2001.

Regions

Western Europe

On 2 March 2018 the regulation by which geo-blocking and other forms of discrimination based on nationality, or place of residence and establishment ('geo-discrimination') are prohibited was published. These prohibitions must, together with other proposals which form part of the Digital Single Market-

Strategy, result in costumers having better access to goods and services within the internal market. This in turn should stimulate cross-border sales. The regulation takes effect from 3 December 2018. The motive for and the content of the proposal for this regulation have been the subject of our previous

contribution to this journal. This article briefly discusses the final text of the provisions. It also highlights the changes compared to the proposal as presented by the European Commission on 25 May 2016.

View the full article (in Dutch) >