Poland’s competition and consumer regulator UOKiK has opened proceedings against HBO Europe, alleging practices that may harm consumers after some subscribers lost access to HBO Max on devices that had previously been supported, despite their subscriptions remaining active.
The authority says the case concerns unilateral changes to the list of compatible devices and how customers were informed about technical requirements, including whether consumers were properly warned that they could lose access part-way through a paid subscription term.
UOKiK alleges HBO Europe may have made it harder for consumers to use the service by; restricting platform operation on existing devices; failing to include clear device compatibility information in contract confirmations; describing technical requirements in an imprecise way; and not guaranteeing continued operation on devices that were compatible at the point of purchase for the full subscription period.
UOKiK president Tomasz Chróstny said consumers buy televisions and other devices expecting to use them for years, and argued that changing compatibility rules without clear limits can leave customers effectively being told to buy new equipment to continue watching.
The regulator is also reviewing terms that state HBO does not guarantee ongoing compatibility with devices that were supported when the contract was concluded, warning this could result in consumers losing the value of paid subscriptions or having to incur extra costs.
A separate strand of the investigation is focussing on how technical requirements were communicated, with UOKiK raising concerns that, for much of the period under review, key compatibility details were provided only in terms and conditions or on a website rather than on a “durable medium” such as an email contract confirmation.
UOKiK noted that practices infringing collective consumer interests can lead to fines of up to 10% of turnover for each infringement, alongside an obligation to remedy the effects, which can include refunds.
A spokesperson for HBO Europe told Broadband TV News: “HBO Europe takes compliance with consumer protection laws seriously and intends to respond to UOKIK in due course.”
The action against HBO Europe follows other scrutiny of major digital subscription services in Poland, with UOKiK citing previous steps involving Netflix and Amazon, and ongoing preliminary reviews of practices at Apple, Disney+, Google (YouTube Premium), Microsoft (Game Pass), Sony (PlayStation Plus) and Adobe.
