Eurocinema, Europa Distribution, Europa International and ADEF, representing film production, distribution and international sales, have issued a statement welcoming the plenary votes which took place on 13 December, regarding the IMCO report proposing the revision of the 2018 regulation on geo-blocking in the digital single market (2023/2019(INI)). These votes overall represented a stance from the European Parliament to keep the exemption for the audiovisual sector in the Geo-blocking Regulation.

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According to the insitutions' release, "The amendments brought were crucial to mitigate the damaging effects of the original IMCO report which contained misconceptions about the audiovisual industry. In light of this difficult base, the amendments approved represent an important step to ensure the audiovisual sector can continue to rely on geo-blocking as a tool to ensure territoriality and cultural diversity across the European Union."

The statement continues "We welcome particularly the critical element of voting down the request to revisit the inclusion of film/AV services in a future review of the EU Geoblocking Regulation. This cross-party support from MEPS from all over the European Union displays clearly a lack of political support for the future inclusion of the AV sector in the Geo-blocking Regulation. Moreover, this clear refusal from the European Parliament shows an understanding of the AV sector ecosystem and the importance of territorial exclusivity to sustain it. With this vote the European Parliament signals plainly that it sees geo-blocking as an important tool for the industry, for audiovisual works and for audiences."

The organisations thanked all the MEPs who voted and listened to the call published by them, with more than 700 organisations claiming to keep territorial exclusivity and protect cultural diversity (read here).