HOW GEO-BLOCKING OF NON-AUDIOVISUAL DIGITAL CONTENT SHOULD BE REGULATED?

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Dr. Öğr. Üyesi AHMET KAAN KOCABAŞ

Tez Türü: Yüksek Lisans

Tezin Yürütüldüğü Kurum: University of East Anglia, LAW SCHOOL, LAW, İngiltere

Tez Danışmanı: Elıas Deutscher

Tezin Onay Tarihi: 2020

Tezin Dili: Türkçe

Özet:

As a commercial practice, geo-blocking practices should be justifiable in terms of the

non-audiovisual contents due to different tax systems, copyright licenses and cultural

diversity in the EU. According to the data which this study collected in order to analyze

the impact of geo-blocking practices on consumer and producer welfare, the practices

which are applied for only commercial purposes should not be justified. Nevertheless,

the practices which are applied to set a balance between consumer and producer

welfare and meet the consumer needs in different Member States should be justified. In

the light of this criterion and the data, it is concluded that price discrimination in the

video games sector and limiting cross-border availability in the music streaming sector

should be justified and there is no urgency to regulate those practices. Thus, this study

asserts that geo-blocking practices should not be considered illegal when they are

necessary.