Questioning EU Geo-Blocking Restrictions
The European Commission, in conjunction with the Consumer Protection Cooperation (CPC) Network, today announced that it has formally notified Apple regarding potential breaches of the EU's anti-geo-blocking rules.
[…]
According to the CPC Network, consumers using Apple Media Services, such as the App Store, Apple Music, and Apple TV+, encounter different interfaces and content depending on their country of registration. This regional segmentation allegedly makes it difficult, if not impossible, for users to switch between country-specific versions of Apple's services, which may be in violation of the EU's Geo-blocking Regulation enacted in 2018, designed to protect the Digital Single Market.
[…]
The EU maintains that consumers should be able to access and download apps offered in other EU/EEA countries when traveling or staying temporarily in another member state.
See also: Steve Troughton-Smith.
Previously:
- iOS Apple Intelligence in EU in April 2025
- Testing EU iOS Features in iOS 18.2
- EU iOS Envy
- No Apple Intelligence or iPhone Mirroring in EU at Launch
- App Marketplaces Will Stop Working If You Travel Outside the EU
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So I assume the Commission is next going to go after every single video streaming app because they geo-fence their content too? And then sports broadcasting apps? Live TV?
Because all of these also geo-fence based on broadcasting rights etc.
> So I assume the Commission is next going to go after .... sports broadcasting apps? Live TV?
Yes. That's already a rule in the EU. The single market means you can buy from other countries in the EU. Companies have fought it before, and it's been upheld in court.
Example with live Football broadcasts from 2011 (back when the UK was part of the EU):
https://www.bbc.com/news/business-12355022
Just curious - are apps priced uniformly across EU countries? If not, then whats likely to happen if it becomes a single market? Race to the bottom? Prices mediate?
@Someone else
In countries with the Euro they are priced the same, in other countries (like Sweden) there might be a price arbitrage due to exchange rates.
But, of the very small number of people that pay for apps, there's an even smaller number of people who pay enough for a single app that it would matter.
Of that tiny sliver of people there's an even smaller number that would actually bother to tinker with language settings (and then have to use their phones in a language they can't read) in order to save a few cents. Certainly not enough to have an effect on the app store at large.
I think the same goes for side loading. Not enough people care for alternative app stores to have an effect.
