Goodbye, geoblocking.
New EU regulations have come into force that prohibit businesses based in the European Union from geoblocking consumers from elsewhere in the EU.
As of this month, EU-based businesses are no longer allowed to block or limit a customer from accessing their website based on their location and they cannot automatically redirect a customer to a different online interface without their express consent.
This means that if you’re shopping on the Italian version of a clothes website, you can’t be sent back to the Irish version of the site without agreeing first.
In certain circumstances businesses must provide consumers with the same access and possibility to acquire goods and services as local customers. In terms of setting prices, this means that a trader can have different prices on websites aimed at different territories, but customers must not be confined to buying from the website aimed at their location.
This means that better prices will be available to Irish consumers. It’s also the case that some websites attempt to prevent Irish buyers from ordering something for delivery or collection based on location. While companies won’t be required to deliver to Ireland, they can no longer prevent Irish people from ordering items for collection or delivery based on geo-tagging.
While traders are free to accept whatever payment method they wish, the Geo-blocking Regulation prohibits them from treating those payment methods differently depending on the location of the customer.
All in all, it’s a handy introduction of rules ahead of Christmas. So if you’re looking for a bargain, it might be time to try checking some .fr or .de domains!
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