Streaming Without Borders - Europeans Can Take Their Movie and Music Streaming Subscription Abroad

The European Parliament has just passed a new regulation that allows subscribers of Netflix, Spotify, Deezer or another online service to stream abroad. They can enjoy their favorite movies, TV shows, music, or games wherever they go within the EU. Currently, subscribers trying to stream abroad get a “content not available” message.

Starting 2018, subscribers can enjoy their paid for services abroad, regardless if they stay abroad for work, study, or vacation. In case of free services, providers can decide if their content will be available abroad; they are exempt from the new regulation.

The regulation tries to bring clarity in the scope of digital rights which has become complicated due to the rise of the use of mobile devices (smartphones, tablets, etc.). Subscribers want to enjoy content everywhere, not just in their own country. According the data of the European Commission, about half of the internet users, watch movies, listen to music and play games online. This number is expected to increase, since roaming costs inside the EU will abolished starting July 15, 2017.

The new regulation is part of the EU’s Digital Single Market strategy (DSM). According to the European Commission, geo-blocking and other geographically-based restrictions also undermine online shopping and cross-border sales.

Dutch Court Allows Zero-Rating - What Is The Impact For Net Neutrality?

T-Mobile Netherlands just won a landmark court case. According to a Dutch court in the City of Rotterdam, the mobile company can continue to offer its music streaming for free. T-Mobile launched its Music Freedom in October 2016.

This is a groundbreaking verdict, since Dutch law bans companies such as T-Mobile to provide zero-rating services since it leads to unfair competition. The Dutch Consumer and Market Authority (ACM) tried to block T-Mobile from offering zero-rated music streaming, asking the court to impose fines of 50,000 euros (around $52,000) per day up to a maximum of 500,000 euros (or around $521,000) if T-Mobile would not stop its free service.

To refresh your memory, zero-rating is a well-known practice among mobile network operators (MNO), mobile virtual network operators (MVNO), and Internet service providers (ISP), where they don’t charge end customers for certain services (in this case: music streaming). The catch? Zero-rating offerings are part of a limited or metered data plan to get ahead of the competition. That’s why the ACM objected; offering free music streaming would give T-Mobile an unfair advantage.

ACM argues that zero-rating offerings might have a negative impact on fair competition between online services. It could services such as Spotify and YouTube (that use more data) at a disadvantage. Zero-rating could therefore impact the way consumers use the Internet, which would violate the net neutrality principle.

ACM board member Henk Don argued that “Dutch law is clear about zero-rating: it is not allowed. That is why ACM is taking action … There is no such thing as free data: it causes other services to become more expensive”.

The Dutch court that zero-rating is indeed forbidden under the Dutch Telecommunication Act, but that this Dutch prohibition does not apply, since the Netherlands under the European Network Neutralization Regulation was not authorized to supersede. All efforts to include the Dutch regulation regarding zero-rating have failed.

However, the court does point out that the way that T-Mobile offers its Data Free Music service could still be violating the Net Neutrality Regulation, but since ACM did not raise this argument (since it assumed that zero-rating was per se prohibited), the court did not look into this aspect. For now, T-Mobile can continue to provide its free music streaming service.

ACM is not giving up; it started a new investigation of T-Mobile zero-rated music streaming offer. This time, it will not assess if the offer base complies with Dutch net neutrality legislation, but if it violates the EU's net neutrality rules.

Stay tuned!

(Second image courtesy of T-Mobile)

Dutch Court Rules: Boy (12) May Decide Himself About Chemo Treatment

David (12) had a brain tumor that was removed in November 2016. The medical team advised that he would undergo chemotherapy to cure him permanently. However, the boy did not want to submit to this intrusive treatment. Like his mother, he put his faith in alternative treatments.

This venue was against the treatment plan of the medical staff at the Dutch Academic Medical Center (AMC). The medics estimate his survival chances at 50/50 without chemotherapy, and at 75% to 80% with chemotherapy. In the end, both parties ended up in court to decide on David’s faith.

The District Court of Alkmaar ruled that the boy is allowed to determine his own treatment. It overturned a previous court decision from December 2016 that ruled that David was incapable of making these kind of decisions by himself.

The ruling makes sense under Dutch law. From the age of 12, children are heard in custody cases to decide where to live. Children between 12 and 16 also decide (together with their parents) about medical treatments. Normally, their opinion takes precedent of that of their parents.

Do you agree? Or do you think the court was wrong?

Judge Rules: Snuggies Are Blankets, Not Garments

Just in case you wondered, a US trade court ruled that Snuggies are blankets. That’s good news for importers since the import tax will be 8.5% and not 14.9%.

In the case Allstar Mktg. Grp., LLC v. United States, Ct. Int’l Trade, 13-00395, 2/10/17, the Justice Department claimed that Snuggies are garments, similar to scholastic robes or priestly vestments, and should therefore be taxed at such.

Judge Mark Barnett of the Court of International Trade ruled otherwise. He stated that since Snuggies don’t have closures, they can be sold as blankets. The judge rejected the Justice Department’s argument that Snuggies are akin to priestly vestments or scholastic robes.

It’s not the first time that the Allstar Products Group got into hot legal waters. Last year, consumers filed complaints about the company’s unethical marketing practices. An investigation found that consumers often faced undisclosed processing and handling fees and misleading up-selling offers. The Company reached an agreement with the New York Attorney General to pay $8m to settle the case. Eric Schneiderman issued a statement noting: "This agreement returns money to thousands of consumers in New York and across the nation who believed they were buying items at the price advertised on television, but ended up with extra merchandise and hidden fees they didn't bargain for.”

The origins of the Snuggie are also fishy. It looks like Allstar Product Group ripped off the Slanket, which was invented by Gary Clegg in 1997 and has been on the market ever since.

(Image courtesy of Slanket)