Monitor Prawniczy

no. 21/2019

Duties of online traders and service providers in light of the Regulation on unjustified geo-blocking

Witold Chomiczewski
Autor jest radcą prawnym i wspólnikiem w Lubasz i Wspólnicy – Kancelarii Radców Prawnych sp.k. Liderem specjalizacji e-Commerce w tej Kancelarii. Pełnomocnikiem Izby Gospodarki Elektronicznej ds. legislacji. Specjalizuje się w prawie IT, danych osobowych i nowych technologii.
Abstract

The article describes individual duties imposed on e-entrepreneurs by the Regulation (EU) 2018/302 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 28 February 2018 on addressing unjustified geo-blocking and other forms of discrimination based on customers’ nationality, place of residence or place of establishment within the internal market and amending Regulations (EC) No 2006/2004 and (EU) 2017/2394 and Directive 2009/22/EC, as well as prohibitions arising from therefrom. In the first place, it concerns no possibility to freely redirect a user to a website addressed to the country from the territory of which the user seeks access if the user provided the address of a website dedicated to another country. Another duty involves the need to ensure equal access to goods and services regardless of a country wherefrom a given person acquaint themselves with the offer. Also, a trader cannot refuse to sell goods because a user comes from a different EU Member State if the place of delivery is a country to which the trader delivers goods anyway. It is also prohibited to prevent payments is they meet the conditions laid down in Regulation 2018/302.