The European Union has issued a strong warning to Apple, pointing out that the company’s geo-blocking practices are illegally restricting to consumers on the continent. The European Commission, together with the Consumer Protection Cooperation Network (CPC), has identified a series of possible violations in key technology services, including the App Store, iTunes Store, Apple Music and Apple Books, which directly affect to users in the European Economic Area (EEA).
In the press release published a few hours ago, the Commission and the CPC explained that a joint investigation detected that Apple limits its users depending on the country in which you registered your account. This means, for example, that consumers cannot access payment methods or interfaces other than those in their country of origin, which goes against European regulations against geo-blocking.
The European Union denounces Apple again
The authorities point out that, within the applications of these services, consumers only have access to the interface and payment options of the country where they initially registered their account. This creates serious limitations for users trying to change these settings, since according to EU regulations, no company should impose discriminatory restrictions based on the user’s country of origin or residence.
Margrethe Vestager, European commissioner in charge of competition and who has led various regulatory actions against large technology companies, stressed in the statement: “We are intensifying the fight against geo-blocking. “No business, large or small, should unfairly discriminate against its customers based on their nationality, place of residence or place of establishment.”
EU regulations require service companies to allow consumers to access their services in equal conditionswithout geo-blocking policies restricting its use or availability.
How much will Apple have to pay as a fine?
Apple now has a period of one month to present commitments that respond to the concerns expressed by the European Commission. Otherwise, the company will face possible “enforcement measures” that could include severe financial penalties. The European Union warns that fines could amount to up to 4% of annual turnover worldwide of the company, which for Apple would mean a multimillion-dollar sum.
This is not the first time that Apple has clashed with the EU. The technology company has already been fined 1.84 billion euros (about 2 billion dollars) for anti-competitive practices in Europe. In addition, a possible additional sanction is still pending for “anti-steering” practices, which would prevent application developers from redirecting users outside their ecosystem for subscriptions or purchases. This new fine, according to estimates, could reach 38 billion dollars.
Geo-blocking is a practice in which access to services or content is restricted based on the user’s geographic location. The EU considers this practice a barrier to the digital single market, as it prevents consumers from accessing products and services on equal terms. The European Commission has been working for years to eliminate these barriers, encouraging European citizens to have free access to goods and services regardless of their country of residence.
The entry The European Union charges against Apple again and this time it is serious: if you are European, it affects you was first published in La Manzana Mordida.
