EU irate about geo-locked Apple IDs

Ever try to change your account's registered country? It's nigh impossible

The European Union has demanded more platform changes from Apple – this time accusing it of violating anti-geoblocking rules in several of its media services.

The European Commission announced today that a joint investigation between authorities in Belgium, Germany and Ireland determined Apple may be violating the EU's geo-blocking regulation and Services Directive by discriminating against consumers in the EU based on their country of residence. 

According to the EC's Consumer Protection Cooperation (CPC), Apple's App Store, Arcade, Books and Podcasts apps and the iTunes Store include limitations on access, payment methods and downloading, which amount to "unjustified discrimination." 

The geo-blocking regulation, the EC noted in its press release, prohibits discrimination based on nationality, residence, or place of establishment when a citizen of a member state wants to buy goods or services from a vendor located in a different member state. The Services Directive, meanwhile, "requires that general conditions of access to a service do not contain discriminatory provisions relating to the nationality or place of residence of the service recipient." 

More specifically, the CPC takes issue with the fact that Apple restricts user accounts – or Apple IDs – to being able to access storefronts, pay for products or download apps only from the country where an account is registered – a practice "which is not allowed under EU's anti-geo-blocking rules." The EC noted that this creates problems when EU citizens travel to different countries in the bloc, and noted that Apple customers "face significant challenges" when attempting to change their country of registration.

"No company, big or small, should unjustly discriminate [against] customers based on their nationality, place of residence or place of establishment," declared EU commissioner for competition Margrethe Vestager. "Preventing geo-blocking helps consumers access the goods and services they want across Europe and strengthens the functioning and integrity of our Single Market." 

Apple has one month to tell the CPC how it intends to resolve its geo-blocking violations. If its answers aren't sufficient, the CPC warned national authorities could take enforcement measures – which could include even more fines leveled against the iMaker. 

Recently, the EU fined Apple €1.8 billion in March over its anti-steering practices. In September, the EU's highest court decided Apple owed as much as €13 billion in back taxes it had allegedly avoided thanks to lax laws in Ireland, where it bases its European operations.

We've reached out to Apple for comment. ®