I’m on holiday. I used to be reading a lot on holidays, but these days I’m often watching videos from different sources instead. So while I was watching YouTube videos (about D&D), I got a bit annoyed about the quality of the Wifi, which is frequently a problem in holiday locations. It would be better if I could download the videos first, and then watch them offline. And lo and behold, there is a “download” button below my YouTube video which I hadn’t seen before. Problem solved, right? No, start of the problem, actually.

It turns out that the download button is not downloading anything, but giving you the opportunity to subscribe to YouTube Premium for a hefty 15.99€ per month. Ouch! But hey, first month is free, so maybe I can just use it during my holidays, and then unsubscribe before paying. But no: It turns out that I haven’t seen that button before because the service isn’t available in Belgium. It is available in my holiday location, which is why the button is displayed now, but when I try to subscribe, the system finds out that my iPad is linked to the Belgian app store, and won’t let me sign up.

This is yet another example of the endless possibilities of the internet being needlessly restricted by national borders. There are probably complicated ways around it, like creating multiple Apple profiles in different countries, but that is more bother than it is worth. Companies really need to up their game and at the very least treat the EU common market as a common market. Imagine where the internet business would be in the US if everything changed everytime you crossed a state border!