The role of geoblocking in the Internet legal landscape

Abstract

Geoblocking has been presented both as an evil perpetrated against the Internet and as the savior of content on the Internet. The European Commission regards geoblocking as undesirable and aims to eliminate geoblocking within the European Union to the extent possible. Although the Commission’s 2015 proposed cross-border portability regulation and its 2016 proposed anti-geoblocking regulation would not eliminate geoblocking entirely, the two regulations would significantly limit the instances in which geoblocking would be legal. Content creators, such as motion picture studios, take a different position on geoblocking: they see geoblocking as a helpful means to partition markets, maintain distribution schedules, and secure financing based on territorially-defined distribution. For content providers such as small online radio stations, geoblocking may be the only way to conduct business if these stations rely on affordable, but territorially-limited, licenses. This article reviews the recent legal developments concerning geoblocking and considers whether the future of the Internet can and should include geoblocking. Recent developments suggest that geoblocking is receiving a greater role in the legal context: legislators, courts, and regulators are considering geoblocking as an effective and necessary means of territorially limiting on the Internet the effects of their laws, judgments, and decisions. Because there are no uniform global laws that would govern activities on the Internet without respect to where those activities occur in the world, some form of geoblocking might be needed to address specific circumstances.