The European Parliament on Tuesday voted to get rid of one of the major obstacles to the Single Market: unjustified geo-blocking when buying online.

The new rules forbid discrimination on the grounds of nationality, residence or place of establishment by defining the specific situations when there is no justified reason to deny access to a customer. European consumers will gain full access to products and online services from other member states despite their nationality, residence or IP address.

“Today is another milestone in our fight against the discrimination of consumers based on their nationality or place of residence, which should not be taking place in our united Europe,” said the European Parliament’s rapporteur Róża Thun.

Currently, online traders use various ways to deny access to their websites and online services if you reside in another member state. This type of discrimination will end, as the new rules will ban blocking access to websites and redirecting the customer to another country-specific website without his or her consent.

The new rules cover buying physical goods online in the European Single Market and do not include copyrighted material such as e-books, e-music, video games or e-films. However, thanks to the EPP Group, they include a review clause that in two years’ time, the European Commission will review the law, considering ending geo-blocking in additional sectors such as the audio-visual or transport sectors.

The new rules should enter into force by Christmas 2018.