Geoblocking regulation – what you should know as an onlineshop owner

Since december the 3rd the new geoblocking regulation is in tact. This regulation should prevent unjustified geoblocking or discrimination on the basis of the place of residence, the nationality or the place of establishment. We give you an overview about what you should consider in online business.

What is geoblocking?

An example for geoblocking is if the access to your website is blocked because of the ip address identification. Another example would be if you redirect your customers from your website towards a country specific website with higher prices for the same products.

Who is affected by this regulation?

All cross-border issues between suppliers and customers within the EU are affected by this new regulation. Customers according to the regulation are consumers that either hold the nationality of a Member State or have their place of residence in one of them. Additionally companies who have their place of establishment in a Member State and make a transaction as a consumer e.g. purchase of office supplies, are also customers according to the regulation.

What is forbidden?

  • Blocking or restricting the access on a website (e.g. beacause of location-based data).
    Exception: Products which are prohibited from being advertised or purchased based on country specific laws.
  • Usage of different entry requirements:
    • No discrimination because of the place of residence, the nationality or habitation.
    • All customers must be able to purchase products or services for the same conditions.
    • Exception: Divergences of the terms and conditions are only allowed if they are necessary according to national laws.
    • Exception: Shipping in all Member States is not obligatory. You can still choose to which country you want to ship your products and to what conditions. Though it must be possible for the customer to either pick up the shipment in a from you supplied Member State, if you offer collection in general, or send it to a shipping address in such a Member State.
  • Prohibition of discrimination in coherence with the payment:
    Within the same payment methods the Innerhalb derselben Zahlungsart müssen für alle die gleichen Bedingungen gelten.
    Beispiel: Kann ein deutscher Kunde mit Kreditkarte z.B. Visa zahlen, so muss dies auch für einen belgischen Kunden freigegeben sein.

What has to be done?

Take some time to check a few points about your online presence which need special attention.

  • Billing addresses within Member States have to be accepted
  • Electronic payment methods need to have the same conditions for all customers if the methode (e.g. credit card) and the type (e.g. mastercard) are identical
  • If you have diffenerent language dependent versions of your onlineshop note the following points:
    • Deactivate automatic redirects to your country dependent websites.
      Exception: If you have an Opt-In and Opt-Out form for this case to get the approval of your customers to redirect them.
    • Check your terms and conditions or let them get checked from a lawyer if customers get discriminated because of their place of residence, the nationality or the place of establishment.

For further information regarding this topic please ask your legal counsel for advice.

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