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EU Charges Valve and 5 Game Publishers With Unfair 'Geo-Blocking' (venturebeat.com)

Posted by msmash on from the how-about-that dept.

The European Commission charged Valve, the owner of a video distribution platform, and five game publishers on Friday with preventing EU consumers from shopping around within the European Union to find the best deal for the games they offer. From a report: The case is the latest move by EU antitrust regulators against cross-border curbs on online trade, key to what is seen as a major part of economic growth in the 28-country bloc. The Commission, which oversees competition policy in the 28 EU countries, said that the companies were Valve, the owner of the world's largest video game distribution platform 'Steam', and five game makers -- Bandai Namco, Capcom, Focus Home, Koch Media and ZeniMax. "In a true digital single market, European consumers should have the right to buy and play video games of their choice regardless of where they live in the EU," European Competition Commissioner Margrethe Vestager said. The Commission has sent what it calls a "statement of objections" to the companies, allowing them to reply and request hearings to present their arguments.

6 of 129 comments (clear)

  1. Rising prices by execthts · · Score: 4, Insightful

    Let's hope that they won't raise the poorest regions' prices up to the level of the richest regions' levels.

    1. Re:Rising prices by fazig · · Score: 3, Insightful

      Platforms like Netflix have to struggle with different issues like licensing the series, which can work differently for each country. If there are TV channels that already are a licence holder in that specific country this becomes even more complicated.

      The EU would first have to unify the licensing market in some way, or the member states would have to reach some consensus through other means, before this can happen.

    2. Re:Rising prices by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0, Insightful

      The reason is simple. they want a single nation. the goal of the EU has ALWAYS been a united states of europe. they want their empire, and by god they are going to get it by hook or crook.

    3. Re:Rising prices by drinkypoo · · Score: 4, Insightful

      platforms like Netflix can't offer content anywhere in the EU unless they hold the relevant licences for everywhere in the EU.

      That's not really a problem, it will only require some adjustment. Nobody else will be able to, either, so the people who control the licenses will start providing licensing that permits such distribution. Otherwise they lose out on the sales entirely.

      --
      "You're right," Fisheye says. "I should have set it on 'whip' or 'chop.'"
    4. Re:Rising prices by dabadab · · Score: 4, Insightful

      Unfortunately, this argument also seems to have only one conclusion under current EU rules: platforms like Netflix can't offer content anywhere in the EU unless they hold the relevant licences for everywhere in the EU.

      That's patently untrue. Steam is not charged because it does not sell something in regions where it is legally not allowed to: that would be absurd. Also, the EU has already explicitly acknowledged the problem of distributing digital content in a fragmented market where you may not have license in all the EU states and it's OK with a partial distribuion so much that it already has regulation for this exact situation.

      --
      Real life is overrated.
  2. EU VAT rules by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 2, Insightful

    Companies selling digitally delivered goods and services in the EU are required by law to gather evidence of where they customers are located.

    The sales tax (value added tax) percentages, thresholds and rules vary widely across the EU. In the Netherlands you pay VAT on the first euro of sales. In the UK you can sell the equivalent of about 75000 euros of stuff before you need to charge VAT.

    VAT is supposed to be paid to the country where the buyer is located. If you sell a pdf knitting pattern to someone in Bulgaria you are supposed to get the tax sent to the government of Bulgaria.

    The intention is to stop an Amazon subsidiary in Luxembourg processing all their EU sales at the lowest VAT rate. In practice it means a person who, as a tiny business, wants to sell fifty $20 software licences or pdf knitting patterns has deal with calculating VAT using 28 different sets of rules and there is a chance of being audited by the Bulgarian tax authority.

    It's a bureaucratic nightmare for small businesses.