A European Parliament committee has put forward a new proposal aiming to prevent location-based discrimination against consumers in the European Union internal market area, including users of digital currencies. Written by the EU Committee on Internal Market and Consumer Protection, the proposal addresses unjustified geo-blocking and other forms of discrimination based on customers’ nationality, place of residence or place of establishment within the internal market. The proposal defines “geo-blocking” as traders operating in one EU member state blocking or limiting access to their online interfaces of customers from other member states wishing to engage in cross-border commercial transactions. Lawmakers believe that this will ensure that customers and traders are allowed to conduct commercial transactions without having to experience any unjustified discrimination. Geo-blocking is one of the major obstacles to the “Digital Single Market”, a cohesive European digital common market, according to the lawmakers.

“As a Regulation, it will impose binding obligations to traders from the date of its entry into force, so as to allow customers to access and purchase products, preventing the effects of discrimination based on nationality or place of residence or establishment or payment service. It aims to lift any unjustified barriers in e-commerce and to be a decisive step towards the completion of the Digital Single Market”, the proposal reads. With regard to digital currencies, the proposal states: “The [European Union] Commission should assess whether to provide the legal framework that allows, subject to the freedom of contract principle, the protection of undertakings and consumers when the transaction is carried through alternative modes of payment, including virtual currencies, other blockchain type transactions and e-wallets.”