Could geo-blocking be deemed anti-competitive?

A ban on geo-blocking is among several remedies being mulled by the Australian Government as a response to the parliamentary inquiry into IT pricing in Australia.

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Apple, Microsoft and Adobe fronted the committee in public hearings late last week. All were asked by committee chair Nick Champion whether in a global digital economy, price disparities between Australia and countries like the United States were justified on geographical grounds.

Geo-blocking is the practice of restricting access or setting prices for a digital product based on a user's IP address. Submissions to the inquiry from CHOICE magazine - among others - recommended that Australia's Attorney General protect those consumers that use virtual private networks and other technology means to circumvent geo-blocking.

ANU College of Law Associate Professor Matthew Rimmer said Australia's Parliamentary investigation could provoke similar inquiries in several other jurisdictions around the globe.

Rimmer said geo-blocking, a major focus of the inquiry to date, would be studied to determine whether the practice would restrain competition or enable price fixing.

Geo-blocking anti-competitve?

The committee's line of questioning over the past year indicates it might even go further to define geo-blocking an anti-competitive measure. 

Evidence given by both the Attorney-General’s Department and the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade indicated that geo-blocking was not regarded as a technical protection measure (TPM) the Government was required to protect under the Copyright Act.

Adobe A/NZ managing director Paul Robson said on Friday that any measure to deem geo-blocking as anti-competitive would be met with a substantial reduction of local investment by foreign companies. He backed geo-blocking as a way to ensure Australian users had access to local support and advice.

The issue of geo-blocking is on the agenda of discussions between Australia's Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (DFAT) and its Trans-Pacific allies, as revealed by iTnews earlier this week. 

The committee will now report on the 120 submissions and testimony, and is expected to publish a report by June that will examine price differentials, their impacts on Australian users and potential remedies.