EU Commission Votes for Content Portability

The European Parliament have returned a positive vote on content portability on May 18, supporting the right of EU citizens to access legal content, music, games and movie streaming subscriptions when travelling to any country within the European Union. The aim of this initiative is to improve access to content and reduce online piracy. The new rules were adopted with an overwhelming 586 votes to 34, with 8 abstentions.

The draft supporting content portability was originally adopted in December 2015 as part of the Digital Single Market strategy, designed to remove barriers to e-commerce within the EU.

After the new regulations, internet users will have access to online content subscriptions including video providers, online television, music, sports or game streaming services they have a paid account with in their home country.

Services like HBO Go, Netflix, Amazon Prime, Spotify or Deezer usually offer different content depending on the region by verifying the IP address of the subscriber. Under the new system, ISPs will verify the user’s state of residence and make the home country content available regardless of the user’s current location. Also, internet service providers must ensure that any personal data processing is equitable and must introduce safeguards, especially for IP address checks.

“This is an important step in breaking down barriers in the Digital Single Market.”.

The positive vote on content portability is most relevant in light of the recently adopted rules on roaming charges within the EU.

The draft law is to be formally approved by the EU Council with effect in early 2018. Member states will have nine months from the date of the regulation entry to prepare for the change.

Until 2018, when the new regulations will be applied, the restrictions to access certain content can only be bypassed through the use of a VPN service or a Smart DNS. This will allow users to unblock websites like HBO or BBC iPlayer and also grant them complete access to all types of blocked content regardless the country they are in and without having to worry about the security of their personal data.