Refusal to Serve Consumers because of their Nationality or Residence – Distortions in the Internal Market for E-commerce Transactions? ( European Parliament’s Committee on Internal Market and Consumer Protection)

Technological progress and the internet bring the promise of an Internal Market for electronic services closer than ever into the reach of Europe's citizens. Yet, while European and national policies are committed to removing government-made obstacles to the free movement of services, some e-commerce businesses use technology to actually re-introduce territorial barriers. The goal of this briefing paper is to provide a first overview of the motives of e-commerce businesses to engage in territorial differentiation, to examine whether territorial differentiation can result in a serious distortion of the Internal Market and to make recommendations what measures should be taken to remove barriers that prevent consumers from buying goods and services on-line throughout the Internal Market.