Geo-tagging will end in 2018 in the EU

European legislators have not only decided that mobile roaming charges will go on 15 June 2017. Nine months later, streaming services such as Netflix, Amazon and Spotify will be available to 500 million consumers from anywhere in the European Economic Area.

“People who have subscribed to their favourite series, music and sports events at home will be able to enjoy them when they travel in Europe. This is a new important step in breaking down barriers in the Digital Single Market,” said Andrus Ansip, EU Commissioner for the Digital Single Market.

The new regulation was agreed between the European Parliament and the European Council yesterday. It will make it illegal for service providers to stop access to digital subscription services based on geo-tagging, as long as the user registered in an EEA state. The Commission will now formulate a federal law text, to be adopted formally by the legislators.

According to the European Commission, 64% of Europeans used the internet to play or download games, images, films or music in 2016. They did it increasingly through mobile devices. In a survey carried out in 2015, one in three Europeans wanted cross-border portability. For young people, this possibility is even more important. Half of people aged between 15 and 39 years old thought that portability and accessing the service they subscribe to when travelling in Europe is important.