Vote for Culture in the European Parliament INI Report on the EU Geo-blocking Regulation

The film, cinema, and audiovisual sector in Europe jointly urges the European Parliament to cast a vote in favour of culture on 13 December 2023 by opposing the call for future inclusion of audiovisual services in the scope of the EU Geo-blocking Regulation.

Rejecting the call for future inclusion of audiovisual services is a vote in favour of preserving Europe’s cultural and linguistic diversity.

A ban on the use of geo-blocking technology to support territorial exclusivity for film and audiovisual content and services would severely jeopardize the creative and economic sustainability of the film and audiovisual sector in Europe.

Surely this cannot be the intended outcome. We therefore urge you to vote for the plenary amendments which secure continued exclusion of audiovisual services from the Geo-blocking Regulation.

The entire film, cinema, and audiovisual sector in Europe is counting on you to ensure that the European Parliament does not jeopardise a 47 billion EUR sector largely composed of SMEs and individual creators, totaling more than 2 million jobs in the EU. This would also reduce access to content for European citizens.

This would result in a drop in the number and range of films and audiovisual content produced, with a smaller variety of languages. Distribution and circulation would be drastically reduced across the EU. This would have a direct and negative impact on consumer welfare: significant reduction of choice in content, distribution, and access options as well as a surge in prices.

See the attachment for the full statement and a complete list of signatories.