The Regional Authority for Economic Activities (ARAE) detected seven administrative offenses during the 'Madeira Without Blocks' operation, conducted in July. The initiative aimed to prevent geo-blocking and unjustified discrimination in electronic sales targeting Madeira's consumers.
This operation aligns with Law No. 7/2022, which protects consumers in the Autonomous Regions of the Azores and Madeira against discriminatory online practices. Regional Secretary for the Economy, José Manuel Rodrigues, deemed the persistence of such practices "unacceptable" and assured that "no Madeiran consumer can be discriminated against based on their address or postal code."
One hundred and twenty electronic pages were inspected, leading to the identification of seven violations. Six of these concerned the application of different terms for accessing goods based on the consumer's residence, with operators not making goods available in Madeira that were sold elsewhere in the country. The seventh violation involved redirection to different online interfaces with lower or different stock than advertised.
Administrative offense proceedings will be forwarded to ASAE where applicable. ARAE will continue to monitor e-commerce and urges consumers to report instances of geo-blocking or discrimination.
