At present, many service providers make use of the so-called geoblocking to prevent access to content beyond the country in which the user has contracted them. This is possible thanks to the detection of the IP of the users and allows situations as little logical as that, if you travel to Germany, there you will not be able to access the Netflix content that you access with your Spanish subscription, but you will be able to access the available in Germany.
Criticism of geo-blocking has been mounting in recent years as streaming services expanded to more and more countries and gained millions of users. Nevertheless, geoblocking in Europe has its days numbered.
You can access the same content anywhere in the European Union
If the plans are on track, in less than a year the geographical blockade in the Old Continent will have passed away thanks to the new regulations regarding digital content that have been approved by the Ministers of the Interior and Justice of the European Union.
It was a logical demand, and the final answer has been equally: yes one of the pillars of the European Union is the free movement of people and goodsHow is it possible that even today digital content is not included among those merchandise?
The measure will begin to be applied from the first quarter of 2018 and you will have two specific areas of application. On the one hand, digital content and service providers such as Netflix, Spotify and others will not be able to block such content for reasons of the user's geographic location. And from somewhere else, Nor will they be able to charge any type of extra charge when the subscriber accesses from a territory that does not correspond to that of the country where he has contracted his subscription. In this way, traps such as that of the release of mobile phones by telecommunications companies are avoided, remember? When they could no longer legally charge you for releasing your phone, they simply applied a change in concept: the user was not charged for releasing the mobile, but for carrying out the management that led to the release of the mobile. Of fireworks!
Geoblocking is contrary to the legality of the Treaty of the European Union
The regulations approved by the Ministers of Justice and Interior of the European Union are framed within a much more ambitious area, the digital single market plan that already in 2016 ended the geographical restrictions related to electronic commerce. The motivation for this decision was, once again, as logical as it was evident: the geographical restriction is contrary to the Treaty of the European Union while this document, basic for the creation and current configuration of the EU, considers it illegal and therefore prohibits any type of discrimination on grounds of nationality or residence, at the same time that it "guarantees the free movement of goods, services, people and capitals ”.
The measure will not affect free digital content, which may continue to be geo-blocked.
The reason why digital content (music, electronic books, movies, series, documentaries ...) and the platforms that provide them (Netflix, Spotify, etc.) were left out of the decision at that time, is something that is still difficult to understand. even more so taking into account the resounding clarity with which the Treaty on the European Union is expressed in this regard.
On the other hand, the legal decision to prohibit the blocking of digital content for reasons of geographical location did not come out of nowhere either; before the Ministers of Justice and Interior approved the norm, the European Parliament put this measure to a vote, which was approved last May.
No geoblocks, but also no cheating
Obviously, ending geoblocking could lead some users to contract the same services in other countries where they are cheaper, however, the regulations protect these companies, which will be able to verify the place of residence of their customers.