Apple He does not stop having headaches due to his activity and behavior in the EU. To the fines that have recently been added, the formal request what has he done to you the European Union so that remove restrictions based on geographic location to users of its multimedia services in the region.
The EU informs the company that with these practices they may be violating the regulations on geoblocking in force in the area, and that it has one month to respond to the requests they have made in this regard and propose measures to correct their practices and align them with the regulations. of the EU.
The EU communication has come after an investigation led by the national consumer managers of Belgium, Germany and Ireland; which has been coordinated by the European Commission. According to the results obtained in this investigation, the Commission assures that Apple’s practices prevent, apparently illegally, European consumers from accessing digital content based on their country of residence.
The announcement of the petition to Apple has been made jointly with the Consumer Cooperation and Protection Network (CPC), which points out that consumers who use Apple’s multimedia services, such as the App Store, Apple Music or Apple TV, They have different interfaces and content depending on their country of registration.
This segmentation by region, according to them, makes it very difficult for users, if not outright impossible, to switch between country-specific versions of Apple services. This is what may violate the EU’s anti-blocking regulation, approved in 2018 and intended to protect the Digital Single Market.
A point that particularly worries EU authorities is the restriction on downloading apps. According to the investigation, Apple’s App Store does not allow users to download apps available in other EU countries other than those in their home country if they move from one to another, for example.
The EU maintains that consumers should have access to apps offered in other EU and European Economic Area (EEA) countries when traveling or temporarily settling in another member state.
Additionally, consumers can only use credit or debit cards on their media services issued in the country in which their Apple account was created. The Commission alleges that Consumers should be able to use any payment method issued in the EU without having to face barriers that are not necessary. If Apple does not adequately meet the deadlines it has been given to respond, or does not propose and take satisfactory measures to correct its practices, it could face further sanctions.
