Apple Under Fire Again: EU Tells iPhone Maker To Stop Geo-Blocking On Platforms Like App Store & iTunes

Geo-blocking in simpler terms is the practice of restricting content on the basis of the geographical location of the user accessing it.

EU Commissioner said, “We are stepping up the fight against geo-blocking. No company, big or small, should unjustly discriminate customers based on their nationality, place of residence or place of establishment.”

Source : Unsplash/Zhang Kaiyv

Apple has had a history of geo-blocking which has often left Apple users infuriated. Users have flagged this as discrimination on many occasions but the iPhone maker hasn't budged at all. It seems like Apple might have to change its stance now as the problems for the tech giant seem to be unending. The European Union on Tuesday told Apple to stop the practice of geo-blocking on services such as App Store, Apple Arcade, Music, iTunes Store, Books and Podcasts. 

Geo-blocking in simpler terms is the practice of restricting content on the basis of the geographical location of the user accessing it. You might have seen a text reading something like, 'Not available in your region'. That is geo-blocking. 

European Commissioner Margrethe Vestager said, “We are stepping up the fight against geo-blocking. No company, big or small, should unjustly discriminate customers based on their nationality, place of residence or place of establishment.”

The European Union added that the iPhone maker had one whole month to propose commitments on what it would do or how it would address the geo-blocking issue.

EU To Evaluate iPad OS For Compliance With DMA Regulations

The European Commission recently announced that EU antitrust regulators will review whether Apple’s iPad operating system adheres to the new regulations designed to curb the influence of major tech companies. This move follows the submission of a compliance report by Apple regarding its iPad OS, which the European Union’s executive body, responsible for competition enforcement.

The EU antitrust watchdog in a statement said, “The Commission will now carefully assess whether the measures adopted for iPad OS are effective in complying with the DMA obligations."