Geoblocking is legal in the US and most of the world. The main exception is the European Union, where the Geo-blocking Regulation (EU) 2018/302 has banned unjustified geoblocking of EU shoppers since December 2018, though it leaves streaming and other copyrighted content out.
What the EU bans
Within the EU, a trader can't block or redirect you, or apply different terms, because of your nationality or where you live. The Commission's summary covers three cases: physical goods, electronically supplied services like cloud storage or web hosting, and services used at a set location such as hotel stays or concert tickets. Shops still don't have to deliver everywhere.
What it doesn't cover
Audiovisual services are fully excluded, and the non-discrimination rules don't apply to services mainly giving access to copyrighted works: streaming video, music, e-books, games and software. The partial fix is the separate Portability Regulation (EU) 2017/1128, which lets EU residents use paid subscriptions while temporarily in another EU country. It doesn't open up another country's catalog.
Is that changing?
Possibly, but not yet. The Commission opened a formal evaluation in February 2025, a public consultation followed, and the evaluation report was due in the second quarter of 2026. Extending the rules to streaming has been debated for years, but as of October 2026 audiovisual content remains outside the ban.
In the US
No federal law stops a company from restricting content or sales by location. Streaming licenses are sold territory by territory, and services enforce them through their terms of use.
The flip side matters too: geoblocking being legal doesn't make getting around it illegal in the US, but it usually breaches the service's terms. In countries that restrict VPNs, such as China, the UAE and Russia, bypassing blocks can also break local law.