The EU has laid down a set of formal instructions to stop the practice of geo-blocking on an array of its services. This includes iTunes, Music, Podcasts, Apple Arcade, the App Store, and Books
The directives were issued on Tuesday which showed how there is a huge amount of scrutiny over how the iPhone maker restricts access to various digital content depending on geographical location.
The EC mentioned several instances of preventing geo-blocking within the digital ecosystem. This kind of practice was long held as the key standard of functioning in Apple whereby users cannot access content depending on where they might be located. However, it’s not going to go unnoticed by the EU any longer.
The EU commissioner vowed to penalize the company to help step up the fight against such behavior. It’s so important for firms to stop discriminating against users depending on where they’re from, where they reside, and which establishment they come from.
Apple was provided with a deadline of just one month to propose some solutions on this front, addressing the concerns that the commission has about this activity. In case the right commitments by Apple are not made or considered decent, it will be penalized.
The heart of the EU’s regulations states that geo-blocking is unjustified as it targets individuals for no reason. This is against the law as the EU promotes equal, just, and fair access to all member states and the citizens located in them.
The problems on Apple’s platforms on this front are nothing new. Many users have become so used to restricted content that they’ve learned to live with limited access to content, depending on where they might be located.
The history of Apple with EU regulators hasn’t been the best so far. It’s been called out for many of its practices including lack of operating systems on offer to third-party app stores and app sideloading in iPhones across the EU. it’s designed to encourage competition and limit the company’s dominance of the App Store monopoly in this part of the world.
Now this next hurdle might seem like a struggle for Apple but it’s great in terms of setting standards for how tech firms must operate in this part of the world.
Image: DIW-Aigen
Read next: Meta Offers EU Users Ad Consent Choice Amid Rising Privacy Scrutiny
The directives were issued on Tuesday which showed how there is a huge amount of scrutiny over how the iPhone maker restricts access to various digital content depending on geographical location.
The EC mentioned several instances of preventing geo-blocking within the digital ecosystem. This kind of practice was long held as the key standard of functioning in Apple whereby users cannot access content depending on where they might be located. However, it’s not going to go unnoticed by the EU any longer.
The EU commissioner vowed to penalize the company to help step up the fight against such behavior. It’s so important for firms to stop discriminating against users depending on where they’re from, where they reside, and which establishment they come from.
Apple was provided with a deadline of just one month to propose some solutions on this front, addressing the concerns that the commission has about this activity. In case the right commitments by Apple are not made or considered decent, it will be penalized.
The heart of the EU’s regulations states that geo-blocking is unjustified as it targets individuals for no reason. This is against the law as the EU promotes equal, just, and fair access to all member states and the citizens located in them.
The problems on Apple’s platforms on this front are nothing new. Many users have become so used to restricted content that they’ve learned to live with limited access to content, depending on where they might be located.
The history of Apple with EU regulators hasn’t been the best so far. It’s been called out for many of its practices including lack of operating systems on offer to third-party app stores and app sideloading in iPhones across the EU. it’s designed to encourage competition and limit the company’s dominance of the App Store monopoly in this part of the world.
Now this next hurdle might seem like a struggle for Apple but it’s great in terms of setting standards for how tech firms must operate in this part of the world.
Read next: Meta Offers EU Users Ad Consent Choice Amid Rising Privacy Scrutiny
