June 23 2016 - The European Commission is in the process of implementing a wide-ranging strategy to create a genuine 'Digital Single Market' across the EU.
Essentially, the Commission's objective is to enable businesses and consumers across the EU to take advantage of the wide range of available services that are facilitated by new
digital technologies, regardless of national borders. More controversially, certain interest groups and some national governments have viewed the 'DSM agenda' as an opportunity
to increase the regulatory burden placed on new and innovative business models that are threatening incumbents' existing business models. So far, the Commission appears to be
attempting to strike a balance between these two, largely opposing, objectives, rather than coming down firmly on one side or the other.
This uneasy balance is demonstrated by the Commission's hotly-anticipated announcement of a number of measures on 25 May. Specifically, the Commission is proposing to:
a) boost e-commerce by proposing new legislation to prohibit unjustified geoblocking and other forms of discrimination between customers, make cross-border parcel
delivery cheaper and more efficient and improve consumer protection enforcement for online commerce;
b) update the rules that govern audiovisual media in a manner that more closely aligns the regulatory framework for broadcast and online services; and
c) study the role of online platforms, with a view to addressing areas of concern through greater self-regulation.
Boosting e-Commerce
The Commission's first legislative proposal under this heading is a regulation to ban 'unjustified geoblocking', ie the practice by which website operators block
or limit access to a site, or redirect customers to another site, based on their location. The wording of the proposed regulation is relatively straightforward, in that it
simply states at Article 3(1) that "Traders shall not ... block or limit customers' access to their online interface for reasons related to the nationality, place of residence
or place of establishment of the customer". A similar prohibition applies to redirecting customers to a different "version of their online interface" without explicit prior
consent (Article 3(2)). The only exception that appears to be anticipated by the regulation is situations where geo-blocking takes places "to ensure compliance with a legal
requirement in Union law or in the laws of Member States". This is presumably to allow for the fact that such practices are often required to protect copyright in digital content.
The proposed regulation also contains a prohibition on apply different conditions of access to goods and services based on nationality, place of residence or place
of establishment and a prohibition on discriminating on the basis of payment method used. Although the relevant articles do carve out situations where the service concerned
involves the provision of content protected by copyright and the provision of services in the trader's premises, the proposal with respect to the supply of goods is rather strange.
Mindful of the practical implications of imposing an obligation on all EU businesses to sell their goods across the EU, irrespective of their size and inclination to do so,
the proposed regulation simply requires a business that does not ship its products to another Member State to give a consumer in that Member State the ability to order a product
from it for delivery to the Member State where it is present or does deliver. How many consumers living in France would take up the option of ordering a product from Germany and
getting it delivered to Austria remains to be seen... In a sign of the power of publishers and physical booksellers, the proposed regulation also contains a specific exception
allowing retailers to continue to sell books at different prices based on customer location, where this is required by national book price fixing laws.
In a second legislative proposal, the Commission is aiming at increasing price transparency for cross-border parcel services and increased regulatory oversight,
to address the fact that consumers and businesses often face much higher costs for cross border delivery compared with prices for delivery within the same country. Prices also
vary widely according to the country involved. Although this proposal is likely to prove less controversial than the geoblocking regulation, its reliance on softer measures to
encourage competition may not prove effective in the face of resistance by local postal monopolies. Recognising this risk, the Commission has promised to take stock of progress
in 2019 to assess whether further regulation is required to improve competition in this area.
Thirdly, the Commission proposes to revise the existing Consumer Protection Cooperation Regulation2 to extend the enforcement powers of national authorities in
online consumer rights matters, in the hope that increased consumer trust in online retail through more stringent enforcement at a national level will make consumers less reluctant
to shop online and (by implication) cross-border. New powers will include the authority to order the immediate take-down of scam websites and access to domain registers to identify
end-traders in the event of non-compliance with consumer protection law.
Audiovisual Media
For the past 30 years, the provision of audiovisual media has been governed at an EU level by what is now the Audiovisual Media Services Directive (AVMSD).
The origins of that directive in the old media world are clearer from its previous name of the Television without Frontiers Directive. The key principle established by the
AVMS Directive and its predecessors is that, with limited public interest exceptions, an audiovisual service that complies with the AVMSD and the national law of the Member
State in which it is first broadcast must be made available in all Member States (the country of origin principle). Recognising the increased popularity of video-on-demand,
IPTV and video sharing platforms, the Commission is now proposing incremental revision of the AVMSD, particularly with respect to the protection of children and clamping down
on incitements to hatred. Although the Commission has rather controversially proposed that the AVMSD's regime mandating European production quotas be extended to online content
providers, its proposal is less far-reaching than was originally feared. Noting this approach, Commission Vice President Ansip noted his desire for "the audiovisual and creative
sectors to be powerhouses in the digital economy, [that should now be weighed] down with unnecessary rules. This means not changing existing rules that work [but] deregulating
where necessary [and] extending certain obligations [...] to improve user protection and reach a level playing field."
Online Platforms
The Commission's review of the role of on online platforms in the digital economy promised to be the most explosive element of the digital single market
strategy when it was first announced, given its origin in calls by some European businesses and the French and German governments for new and widespread regulation to
curtail the perceived market power of a small number of large American technology companies. The Commission's latest announcement will have therefore come as a welcome
relief to businesses that rely on a platform-based model, with the Commission limiting itself to supporting industry-led movement towards self and co-regulation to ensure
"responsible behaviour". While the Commission has promised an additional "fact-finding exercise" on a range of issues raised by its earlier consultation, including regarding
the level of transparency over access terms, the next step on that front will simply be a further announcement in "spring 2017". In the meantime, the Commission's
Communication on Online Platforms and supporting Staff Working Document make interesting reading for those with an interest in the area.
Conclusion
While the measures announced on 25 May fall short of what was in prospect a year ago in certain key respects, this is probably no bad thing, given the scope for
ill-judged regulation to choke off the very innovation that the digital single market initiative was supposed to promote. Nevertheless, implementation of what has been proposed
raises a number of challenges and fundamental questions remain to be resolved, most notably the extent to which underlying copyright law will be revised to take account of online
reality. It is also important to remember that these are simply legislative proposals from the Commission. As a result, they still face a long and tortuous path through the
Parliament and Council before they can come into force. Although the Parliament hailed the proposals as "a step in the right direction", much still remains to be resolved in
the months and years ahead.
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