The European Commission (EC) wants to remove the use of geo-blocking in Europe because it says the practice stands in the way of a free and open digital market.

Andrus Ansip, the EC’s VP for the digital single market, told delegates at an event in Brussels that geo-blocking, which protects licensing agreements by preventing internet users in one country accessing content in another, has to go.

The former prime minister of Estonia said: “100 million Europeans would like to access content cross-border. People are happy to pay to get their films or music legally. But when they try, they are told they come from the ‘wrong’ country. They are locked out. Locking in and locking out is not a winning strategy.

“We do not yet have a digital single market in Europe. Consumers and companies in Europe are digitally “grounded”. They cannot choose or move freely. In the 21st century, this is absurd.”

Ansip is due to return on May 6 with specific solutions to the problem.

Geo-blocking currently means that services such as the BBC’s iPlayer cannot be accessed from outside of the UK, while subscription VoD services like Netflix cannot be watched in countries where it is not yet available.

However a rising number of those online are already using VPNs (virtual-private-networks) to get round geo-blocking, much to the disdain of execs at broadcasters who feel the value of the series they acquire from international distributors is being diminished.

A digital single market, as proposed by the EC, is therefore likely to be met with protests from the international television community, something which Ansip hinted at during his speech.

“I am under no illusions. This will be an uphill struggle. We need to be ambitious. Otherwise, Europe will wait many more years to enjoy these basic digital freedoms,” Ansip concluded.