Accessing content online and cross-border portability of online content services : report

As part of the Digital Single Market strategy, the Regulation on cross-border portability of online content services in the internal market (Regulation (EU) 2017/1128) has been adopted to broaden access to online content services for travellers in the European Union. This Regulation known as 'Portability Regulation' enables consumers to access their portable online content services when they travel in the EU in the same way they access them at home. This regulation became applicable in all EU Member States on 1 April 2018. The Portability Regulation obliges service providers to provide access to their subscribers, without additional charges, to the same content, on the same range and number of devices, for the same number of users and with the same range of functionalities as those offered in their Member State of residence. The obligation does not extend to quality requirements related to the delivery of the online content service. All providers who offer paid online content services have to follow the new rules, while the services provided without payment (such as the online services of certain TV or radio broadcasters) have the possibility to decide to also provide portability to their users. In order to do so, they need to verify the users' Member State of residence and therefore to ask their users to register for using their services. Almost a year after the introduction of the new rules this Eurobarometer survey was launched to: - Understand how Europeans use the Internet to access various types of content online; - Measure the awareness about the possibility to continue accessing paid subscriptions for online content services when travelling or staying temporarily in another EU country; - Measure the prevalence of people who have already taken advantage of the new rules on the cross-border portability of online content services; - Investigate the experience Europeans have with accessing their paid subscriptions from another EU country.