The European Commission has informed Apple that its geo-blocking practices, where services are limited or blocked in certain geographic locations, may violate the law. These practices have been identified in the App Store, Apple Arcade, Music, iTunes Store, Books and Podcasts.

The Commission, together with the Consumer Protection Cooperation Network, has three main concerns with Apple’s geo-blocking, which it claims “unlawfully discriminates against European consumers based on their place of residence”.

• First, the company provides different interfaces for its services depending on the registered country of the Apple ID used, but has made it difficult to switch to that country.
• The second is that consumers can only use payment methods, such as credit and debit cards, issued in the country of their Apple ID registration, creating challenges for those moving or traveling within the block.
• Third, European users cannot download apps hosted on App Stores in other EU countries, which limits their access to region-specific content. This is also important when traveling.

An investigation by the Commission and the CPC network found that these geo-blocking practices could breach EU rules Geo-blocking policy and Services Directiveboth preventing unnecessary discrimination against those wishing to access digital services across borders.

Apple now has a month to address these concerns and propose corrective measures, such as removing geoblocks. If its response is deemed unsatisfactory, the CPC network, led by authorities in Belgium, Germany and Ireland, could take enforcement action. The EU could even fine the company up to 4% of its global annual turnover.

In 2023, Google has made changes to the geo-blocking of its Play services in response to similar actions by the authorities.

Margrethe Vestager, Executive Vice-President for a Europe fit for the digital age, said in a press release: “We’re trying to fight geoblocking. No company, large or small, should unfairly discriminate against customers on the basis of nationality, place of residence or place of establishment.

SEE: EU antitrust leader Margrethe Vestager will resign after losing support

“Preventing geo-blocking helps consumers access the goods and services they want across Europe and strengthens the functioning and integrity of our single market.”

TechRepublic has reached out to Apple for comment.

Apple is going back and forth with the EU

The geo-blocking debacle is the latest in a string of regulatory battles between Apple and the EU, as the latter works to ensure fair competition and accessibility in digital markets. Just last week, the Commission announced its investigation into whether Apple’s iPadOS operating system comply with the Digital Markets Act.

iPadOS, along with the App Store, Safari and iOS, are on the list basic services of the platform which must comply with the requirements of the DMA as prescribed “an important gateway for business users to reach end users”, As such, iPadOS users should be able to choose the default web browser, use third-party app stores, explore features with non-Apple accessories like headphones and smartpens, among other conditions.

Interestingly, macOS is not considered a core platform service, ie European Mac owners can access Apple Intelligence when it is released. Apple has said it will not launch its AI offering in the EU due to “regulatory uncertainties” created by the DMA. However, an exception could be made because macOS does not have to comply.

SEE: Apple must pay Ireland €13 billion in unpaid taxes, EU court rules

So far, the Cupertino giant has not quietly given in to the legislation. In January, he said that accessing third-party apps on Apple devices poses security risksincluding “malware, fraud and scams, illegal and harmful content”.

But the European Commission has been persistent in its efforts to hold Apple accountable, launching three DMA compliance investigations in the past year.

In June, the company was charged DMA violation for a number of reasons, including the fact that it’s not easy enough for developers to direct their customers to purchase options outside of the app that don’t benefit Apple financially. It also released a non-compliance investigation if Apple discourages developers from hosting their iOS apps on third-party platforms.

In August, Apple announced that it would allows EU users to delete pre-installed apps on iOS 18 to comply with the DMA. It also made the “browser choice screen” clearer and expanded more default apps that can be replaced with third-party versions.

Apple must also comply Digital Services Lawa set of rules designed to regulate how it is designated “Very large online platforms” manages privacy, protects its users and operates transparently.