Keeping Geo-Blocking Practices in Check: Competition Law and Regulation

Abstract

The increased use of online sales channels has led the Commission to prioritise competition law enforcement and regulatory intervention in digital markets. In this paper we show how the Commission has stepped up its efforts to ensure that there is a single digital market so that consumers in the EU can shop freely, irrespective of the location of the trader. On matters of substance, antitrust and the Geo-Blocking Regulation converge in achieving this objective. In this paper we caution against an overly aggressive stance by suggesting an effects-based approach to assess these practices, which is supported by recent case-law as well as by economic studies considering the impact of facilitating cross –border sales of copyrighted content. On matters of procedure, both antitrust and the Geo-blocking regulation appear to converge towards a more responsive method of enforcement which should be developed and codified.