The European Commission has presented the first legislative proposals in its Digital Single Market strategy, focusing on improved cross-border access to digital content and unifying sales terms for online purchases across the EU.
The first proposal is to allow consumers subscribed to an online music, e-book, video or gaming service to continue using it when traveling in another EU country. At the moment, access is often restricted in other countries, as licensing of copyrighted content is limited to national agreements. The EC has proposed a regulation to give consumers access to their subscriptions wherever they are in the EU from 2017. Digital Single Market commissioner Andrus Ansip said it should work the same as roaming, for which surcharges are slated to end in 2017, giving users the same experience in all EU countries.
As the copyright change takes the form a regulation, it will come into effect immediately after approval by the European Parliament and Council and will not need to be transposed into national laws. Content providers will have six months after the regulation is passed to adapt their services to the new requirement. The EC said this is the first in a series of planned copyright reforms, with more proposals to be made in spring 2016, based on ongoing public consultations.
The second proposal aims to support cross-border e-commerce by simplifying contract rules for consumers and businesses. The EC proposed two directives, one for the online sale of digital products and one for for the online sale of goods. These cover similar issues on liability and refunds for defective goods and the right to cancel a contract and use customer data. The changes mean businesses would no longer need to adapt to different contract rules in each EU country and could supply digital content or sell goods to consumers in all member states based on the same set of key contract law rules. The EC estimates the new EU-wide rules could save a business operating in all 27 states up to EUR 243,000.
Consumers would also benefit from increased protection. They could request a product be repaired during the two-year standard guarantee without having to prove the defect existed at the time the product was delivered. In addition, consumers would be entitled to a refund or to end a contract if a digital service or product is found to be defective, rather than just receive a voucher towards a future purchase. They also would gain a standard right to end a long-term contract if the provider makes changes to the terms of service and to have the provider stop using their personal data if the contract is ended.
Source: http://www.telecompaper.com/news/eu-proposes-cross-border-access-to-ott-content-services--1117878