The Vice-President of the EuroCommission Andrus Ansip, who is responsible for “Digital Single Market”, identified as one of the six priority areas of work for his team: “removing restrictions (and preventing new ones) and particularly to stop blocking of online consumers based on their location or residence. This will be about reforming copyright rules and getting rid of unjustified curbs on transfer and access to digital assets. Is there anyone who would not want to get rid of geo-blocking, which goes against the core principles of Europe’s single market?”

Geo-blocking is an established commercial practice used for enforcing licensing deals based on territorial coverage. It prevents users from viewing media content based on location. However, it also affords content owners the possibilities to offer flexible pricing for the distribution of content in different countries.