End territorial barriers to lawful access to films across the European Union
End territorial barriers to lawful access to films across the European Union
The Issue
A public petition to the European Commission
For the attention of the Directorate-General for Communications Networks, Content and Technology — DG CONNECT
We, the undersigned, call on the European Commission to address territorial restrictions that prevent people living in the European Union from obtaining lawful, paid access to films and other audiovisual works, particularly where no authorised online offer exists in their country of residence.
A person may be willing to pay the advertised price, accept the available language and subtitles, and comply with every reasonable condition of purchase, yet still be refused access because of where they live. When the work is also unavailable through domestic services, that person has no effective way to purchase online access.
Residents of smaller Member States are particularly vulnerable to this situation. A market may be considered too small to justify local distribution, while territorial licensing prevents its residents from purchasing access from a service elsewhere in the Union. European cultural participation should not depend on the commercial size of a person’s country.
We ask the Commission to establish a practical route to lawful cross-border access, with priority for works that have no authorised online offer in the consumer’s Member State.
The existing audiovisual exclusion from Regulation (EU) 2018/302 [1] explains why the general rules against unjustified geo-blocking do not resolve this problem. We ask the Commission to review whether the breadth of that exclusion remains justified and to propose targeted reform.
Our request is grounded in the importance European law attaches to receiving information and cultural expression across borders.
Article 10 § 1 of the European Convention on Human Rights protects freedom to receive information and ideas “regardless of frontiers”. Article 11 of the Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union [2] protects the corresponding freedom. Article 52(3) of the Charter connects the meaning and scope of corresponding rights to those guaranteed by the Convention.
In Khurshid Mustafa and Tarzibachi v. Sweden, no. 23883/06, 16 December 2008, §§ 44–45, the European Court of Human Rights recognised that Article 10 encompasses cultural expression and entertainment, and attached importance to the absence of adequate alternative means of receiving the programmes concerned. Although that judgment concerned satellite reception and eviction, we invoke its principles in support of a legislative assessment of access to audiovisual culture. [3]
We recognise the need to protect copyright, remunerate creators fairly and sustain audiovisual production. Reform should reconcile those interests with meaningful access for consumers throughout the Union. The availability of lawful purchases can benefit audiences, creators and distributors alike.
We therefore request that the European Commission:
1. Assess the effects of territorial restrictions on residents of smaller Member States, particularly where a work is available online elsewhere in the Union but has no authorised local online offer.
2. Review the audiovisual exclusion and propose targeted legislative or licensing measures enabling lawful, paid cross-border access in those circumstances.
3. Safeguard fair remuneration, cultural diversity and the financing of audiovisual production, while examining measures that avoid leaving consumers entirely unserved.
4. Publish its findings and provide a reasoned response, identifying the action it proposes, the responsible services and an indicative timetable.
A European cultural space requires practical opportunities to encounter its films, languages, ideas and artistic expression. Citizens willing to pay for lawful access should have a workable means of doing so.
By signing this petition, we support these requests and call on the European Commission to act.
Petition initiated by:
Professor Dr Boštjan M. Zupančič, S.J.D. (Harvard)
Former Judge and Section President of the European Court of Human Rights
Former Judge of the Constitutional Court of the Republic of Slovenia
The initiator served at the European Court of Human Rights from 1998 to 2016, including as Section President from 2004 to 2008. He taught law in the United States for ten years, where he held a tenured professorship.
Sources
[1] Regulation (EU) 2018/302:
https://eur-lex.europa.eu/eli/reg/2018/302/oj/eng
[2] Article 11 of the EU Charter and its relationship to Article 10 of the Convention:
https://fra.europa.eu/en/eu-charter/charter/article/11-freedom-expression-and-information
[3] Khurshid Mustafa and Tarzibachi v. Sweden, no. 23883/06, 16 December 2008:
https://hudoc.echr.coe.int/eng?i=001-90234
2
The Issue
A public petition to the European Commission
For the attention of the Directorate-General for Communications Networks, Content and Technology — DG CONNECT
We, the undersigned, call on the European Commission to address territorial restrictions that prevent people living in the European Union from obtaining lawful, paid access to films and other audiovisual works, particularly where no authorised online offer exists in their country of residence.
A person may be willing to pay the advertised price, accept the available language and subtitles, and comply with every reasonable condition of purchase, yet still be refused access because of where they live. When the work is also unavailable through domestic services, that person has no effective way to purchase online access.
Residents of smaller Member States are particularly vulnerable to this situation. A market may be considered too small to justify local distribution, while territorial licensing prevents its residents from purchasing access from a service elsewhere in the Union. European cultural participation should not depend on the commercial size of a person’s country.
We ask the Commission to establish a practical route to lawful cross-border access, with priority for works that have no authorised online offer in the consumer’s Member State.
The existing audiovisual exclusion from Regulation (EU) 2018/302 [1] explains why the general rules against unjustified geo-blocking do not resolve this problem. We ask the Commission to review whether the breadth of that exclusion remains justified and to propose targeted reform.
Our request is grounded in the importance European law attaches to receiving information and cultural expression across borders.
Article 10 § 1 of the European Convention on Human Rights protects freedom to receive information and ideas “regardless of frontiers”. Article 11 of the Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union [2] protects the corresponding freedom. Article 52(3) of the Charter connects the meaning and scope of corresponding rights to those guaranteed by the Convention.
In Khurshid Mustafa and Tarzibachi v. Sweden, no. 23883/06, 16 December 2008, §§ 44–45, the European Court of Human Rights recognised that Article 10 encompasses cultural expression and entertainment, and attached importance to the absence of adequate alternative means of receiving the programmes concerned. Although that judgment concerned satellite reception and eviction, we invoke its principles in support of a legislative assessment of access to audiovisual culture. [3]
We recognise the need to protect copyright, remunerate creators fairly and sustain audiovisual production. Reform should reconcile those interests with meaningful access for consumers throughout the Union. The availability of lawful purchases can benefit audiences, creators and distributors alike.
We therefore request that the European Commission:
1. Assess the effects of territorial restrictions on residents of smaller Member States, particularly where a work is available online elsewhere in the Union but has no authorised local online offer.
2. Review the audiovisual exclusion and propose targeted legislative or licensing measures enabling lawful, paid cross-border access in those circumstances.
3. Safeguard fair remuneration, cultural diversity and the financing of audiovisual production, while examining measures that avoid leaving consumers entirely unserved.
4. Publish its findings and provide a reasoned response, identifying the action it proposes, the responsible services and an indicative timetable.
A European cultural space requires practical opportunities to encounter its films, languages, ideas and artistic expression. Citizens willing to pay for lawful access should have a workable means of doing so.
By signing this petition, we support these requests and call on the European Commission to act.
Petition initiated by:
Professor Dr Boštjan M. Zupančič, S.J.D. (Harvard)
Former Judge and Section President of the European Court of Human Rights
Former Judge of the Constitutional Court of the Republic of Slovenia
The initiator served at the European Court of Human Rights from 1998 to 2016, including as Section President from 2004 to 2008. He taught law in the United States for ten years, where he held a tenured professorship.
Sources
[1] Regulation (EU) 2018/302:
https://eur-lex.europa.eu/eli/reg/2018/302/oj/eng
[2] Article 11 of the EU Charter and its relationship to Article 10 of the Convention:
https://fra.europa.eu/en/eu-charter/charter/article/11-freedom-expression-and-information
[3] Khurshid Mustafa and Tarzibachi v. Sweden, no. 23883/06, 16 December 2008:
https://hudoc.echr.coe.int/eng?i=001-90234
The Decision Makers
Petition Updates
Share this petition
Petition created on October 27, 2026