From 1 April, the new European regulation on the cross-border portability of online content services will come into force, as part of the strategy to implement a Digital Single Market (DSM).

The objective is to ensure that European citizens who purchase or subscribe to films, sports broadcasts, music, e-books and games in their home country can continue to access them when travelling to other EU countries.

The primary beneficiaries will be consumers residing in the EU, who will be able to continue using online content services to watch films or sporting events, listen to music or download e-books while travelling in other Member States.

Online platforms will be able to offer cross-border portability to consumers without the need to acquire licences for other territories.

The new rules apply to paid-for online services, i.e. services that providers, having obtained the relevant rights in a given territory, offer to their subscribers on the basis of a contract, by any means, including streaming, downloading, applications or any other permitted technique.

Providers of free services, however, may choose to extend the portability of their services to all Member States, provided they comply with the requirements for verifying the Member State of residence of their subscribers.

Service providers must verify the subscriber's country of residence at the time of contract conclusion and renewal. To avoid any infringement, providers must verify the consumer's country of residence in accordance with EU data protection legislation. The regulation provides for various verification methods, including: checks on payment details, tax information, postal address or IP address. Providers may apply up to two of the verification methods listed in the regulation, which must be "reasonable, proportionate and effective", while ensuring the protection of personal data.

The new rules do not allow online content service providers to charge consumers and subscribers additional fees for cross-border portability.