Consumer protection, European Court of Justice, Investigations, Italy, National competition authorities (NCAs)

(University of Roma Tre) and (University of Basilicata)/ /Leave a comment

Background On September 5, the Advocate General Pikamäe is expected to deliver an opinion in the Caronte (C-511/23) and Trenitalia (C-510/23) cases. Despite the different legal bases, the cases revolve around the same question, that is whether competition law and consumer protection rules, read in the light of the effectiveness of administrative action, preclude national…

Abuse of dominance, Competition policy, European Commission, European Union, Exclusionary Abuse, Guidance, Presumptions

, , (White & Case) and (White & Case, Belgium)/ /Leave a comment

The European Commission has published for public consultation its long-awaited draft Guidelines on exclusionary abuses (draft Guidelines). The draft Guidelines aim at making it faster and easier for the Commission to pursue abuse of dominance cases, in particular by classifying a number of practices as “presumptively harmful”. This represents a marked departure from the 2008…

European Commission, European Union, Foreign subsidies, Foreign Subsidy Regulation, Guidance

(Norton Rose Fulbright, Belgium)/ /Leave a comment

The EU Foreign Subsidies Regulation, or FSR, is intended to prevent or remedy distortions of the EU internal market caused by “foreign” – meaning non-EU – subsidies benefitting companies active in the EU.  The FSR draws on EU merger control, State aid and trade law, but it also introduces new legal concepts and procedures not…

Damages, Disclosure, Germany

(Clifford Chance)/ /Leave a comment

Executive Summary On 20 February 2024, the German Federal Court of Justice (“FCJ“) ruled on the disclosure of trade secrets in antitrust proceedings. The underlying case (File No. KVB 69/23) concerns the German Federal Cartel Office’s (“FCO“) antitrust investigation into Google’s business practices and the FCO’s intention to disclose information to a third party TomTom,…

Digital competition, Digital economy, Digital markets, Digital Markets Act, Italy, National competition authorities (NCAs), Ne bis in idem, Spain

(University Villanueva, Spain)/ /Leave a comment

Approaching the summer vacation, the end of July was deemed extremely eventful for NCA enforcement actions. On 18 July, the Italian Competition Authority (ICA or AGCM) triggered a sanctioning proceeding against Google with respect to the submission to users of a request for consent to the linking of the services they offer. A few days…

Digital markets, Legislation, Türkiye

(CD Law)/ /Leave a comment

Part I: Prohibitive Provisions This blog post is the first in a series of two blog posts. The objective of this series is to provide a brief overview of the Draft Amendment of the Turkish Competition Act (“Draft Law”, “Turkish DMA”, “Draft” or “Law”). The first blog post focuses on the substantive provisions whereas the…

European Court of Justice, Information exchange

(Baker McKenzie)/ /1 Comment

At a glance… Despite fielding a referral question on information exchange and ‘by object’ violations which could easily have been met with a ‘slam dunk’ but anodyne judgment, the top EU Court’s analysis turns out to be a useful lesson on the anatomy of a ‘by object’ violation in relation to standalone information exchanges. It…

Compliance, Guidelines, Spain

, (MLAB Abogados)/ /Leave a comment

Introduction Companies nowadays are subject to strict regulations in different areas of law. These regulations have obliged companies to implement compliance programmes to ensure that they comply with these rules to avoid severe consequences. Compliance programmes were originally focused on criminal matters. However, compliance programmes have now also expanded to other areas of law such…

Abuse of dominance, App stores, Apple, Apps

(University of Lapland)/ /Leave a comment

Background Asymmetrical relationships can be defined as unequal status or power relations between participants, whose roles are termed superior (…) and subordinate. Expectations and behaviour are largely non-reciprocal (…). This may be reflected in the initiation, termination, direction, amount, form, or style of the communication that takes place. (…) (Goffman).’ (Oxford Reference). Apple was fined…

Digital Markets Act, Self-preferencing

(University of Strathclyde)/ /1 Comment

The rise of digital platforms has revolutionised the global economy, yet it has also introduced a range of regulatory challenges and competitive concerns. This situation has resulted in the creation of vast digital ecosystems. The platforms managing these ecosystems have the motivation and capability to exclude suppliers, allowing them to dominate these markets. While simply…