Disponibilidad de productos y servicios en línea en el mercado único digital

Zusammenfassung

In the EU e-commerce sector, consumers have often been hindered in online transactions when trying to purchase the product or contract the service from a trader located in another Member State due to geo-blocking. In recognition of this, the legislator ensures that discriminatory practices in commercial transactions in the EU are prohibited, i.e. that there are no situations where there is no objective justification for different treatment on the basis of the nationality, residence or place of establishment (including indirect criteria such as IP address or payment details) of the customer in relation to the purchase of products and provision of services in the EU because it hampers the potential of cross-border e-commerce and stifles the full use of the digital single market. Indeed, it is this unjustified different treatment that the GDPR, which has been in force since 3 December 2018, seeks to eliminate. Proof of this is the fine imposed by the European Commission on the Spanish hotel group Meliá of 6.7 million euros for including restrictive clauses in its contracts with tour operators, which discriminated between consumers in the European Economic Area (EEA) on the basis of their place of residence, in breach of European antitrust rules. Thus, the GDPR undoubtedly contributes to the formation of the online internal market, adapts the basic freedoms to the consolidated digital landscape to boost the digital economy, increase free competition and consumer choice throughout the EU internal market. However, some aspects of this instrument may create a friction with private international law (or Dipr.)