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EU bodies want changes to Apple services

The European Commission and the EU’s national consumer authorities have called on Apple to comply with EU rules on geo-blocking.

A statement from the commission said that the Consumer Protection Cooperation (CPC) Network had identified several “potentially prohibited” geo-blocking practices on certain Apple services – including App Store, Apple Arcade, and the iTunes Store.

An investigation and action against Apple is being jointly led by Ireland’s Competition and Consumer Protection Commission (CCPC), and its equivalent bodies in Belgium and Germany.

‘Limitations’

The investigation found limitations on Apple’s media services that the network believed unlawfully discriminated among European consumers based on their place of residence.

EU rules on geo-blocking prohibit “unjustified discrimination” between EU customers based on their nationality, residence, or place of establishment when they want to buy goods and services from traders located in a different member state.

The commission highlighted limitations faced by Apple customers in the following areas:

• Online access,
• Payment methods, and
• Downloading.

Online access

On access, it said that Apple’s media services had a different interface for different countries in the EU/EEA.

“In the app version of these services, consumers are only allowed to access the interface made for the country where they have registered their Apple account and face significant challenges when attempting to change this, which is not allowed under EU's anti-geo-blocking rules,” the commission stated.

It added that, when buying services, consumers were allowed only to use a means of payment issued in the country where they registered their Apple account.

Downloading

The commission also said that Apple’s App Store did not allow consumers to access the version of another EU/EEA country. As a result, consumers were not allowed to download the apps offered in other countries.

“Consumers should be able to download apps offered in other EU/EEA countries when they travel to or temporarily stay in that country,” the EU body stated.

Apple now has one month to reply to the CPC Network's findings and propose commitments on how it will address the geo-blocking issues.

The commission has warned that national authorities could take enforcement action if Apple failed to address the issues raised.