Europe gives Apple yet another regulatory nightmare

Further, Europe’s Services Directive requires that general conditions of access to a service don’t “contain discriminatory provisions relating to the nationality or place of residence of the service recipient, unless directly justified by objective criteria.”

So far, so good. But I have a sense that some of the territorial licensing restrictions some copyright holders still keep in place might act as a brake on what Apple can achieve. There was a day not so long ago when music streaming services had to reach a separate distribution deal for each EU member state, and while that has relaxed significantly, it may also be why Apple’s media services evolved that kind of licensing model. But that was then, this is now. (I do suspect Europe and Apple will find these problems aren’t completely within their own control.)

What does Europe want?

What regulators want is for Apple to make a series of changes to how it offers up media services in the EU. “The discrimination of consumers based on their nationality or place of residence is against Union law, therefore unacceptable,” said Commissioner for Justice Didier Reynders.