Digital

Apple, Digital, Digital economy, Germany, National competition authorities (NCAs), Self-preferencing

(Heinz & Zagrosek Partner mbB, Germany)/ /Leave a comment

Introduction On February 13, 2025, the Bundeskartellamt (Federal Cartel Office, “FCO”) sent its statement of objections to Apple regarding the App Tracking Transparency Framework (“ATTF”), setting out competition concerns based on a preliminary legal assessment (see press release here).  The FCO initiated proceedings under Section 19a ARC and Art. 102 TFEU on June 14, 2022…

Digital, Digital competition, Digital economy, Digital markets, Digital Markets Act, Interoperability

(University Villanueva, Spain)/ /Leave a comment

A regulatory dialogue entails at least two parties exchanging their views to reach a conclusion on a common topic. That’s what first comes to mind, at least. Well, the European Commission (EC)’s idea of such a dialogue differs greatly from that. Exhibit A: the EC’s publication of its preliminary findings on the two ongoing cases…

Digital, Digital competition, Digital economy, Digital markets, Digital Markets Act, Regulation

(University Villanueva, Spain)/ /Leave a comment

Digital platforms behave as quasi-governments replacing regulators in their public duties of decision-making and rule-setting. To address this shift, legislators in different jurisdictions are adopting digital regulations across various fields, notably to curb digital market power or content moderation. The striking difference between these rules and those set out in the past lies in the…

Abuse of dominance, Algorithms, Antitrust, Digital, Digital competition, Digital economy, Digital markets, Digitisation, Discrimination, Dominance, European Court of Justice, European Union, Evidence, Google

(University of Göttingen, Germany), (University of Vienna, Austria), and (LMU Munich)/ /Leave a comment

The recent Google Shopping ruling has already sparked much debate, and an earlier blog post offers a detailed overview of the judgment itself. Building on this, this contribution’s focus is to emphasize and discuss some aspects in the academic analysis, the judgment’s broader implications and outlook for further actions. It builds upon a recently published…

Digital, Digital markets, Digital Markets Act, Enforcement, European Commission

(Morais Leitão)/ /Leave a comment

Key message The discretion afforded to the European Commission (‘EC’) is of central importance with regard to the implementation and enforcement of the Digital Markets Act (‘DMA’). If viewed as arbitrariness, particularly in view of a normative framework that arguably permits such a perspective, the European Commission’s decisions may potentially jeopardise the rule of law…

Digital, Digital competition, Digital economy, Digital markets, Merger control, Mergers, United Kingdom

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

After years of planning and debate, the UK’s Digital Markets, Competition, and Consumers Act will come into force on 1 January 2025. This landmark legislation provides expanded powers to the CMA in respect of merger control, digital markets, competition and consumer protection.   The DMCC The Digital Markets, Competition and Consumers Act (DMCC) is the final…

AI, Digital, Digital markets, Killer acquisitions, Market study, Regulation

(Solicitor (England and Wales) and Advocate (India))/ /Leave a comment

By most indicators, the Generative AI or GenAI ecosystem is a dynamic and competitive space. GenAI is estimated to generate $2.6 trillion to $4.4 trillion in value for the global economy. There has been a substantial influx of venture capital investments backing innovative start-ups. Since ChatGPT launched in 2022, there are now more than 310 large…

Australia, Designation Decision, Digital, Digital competition, Digital economy, Digital markets, Digital Markets Act

(University Villanueva, Spain)/ /Leave a comment

A new kid may join the digital tech regulation block. On 2 December, the Australian Treasure proposed a new digital competition regime addressing digital market power. The policy of the Australian legislator and enforcer builds on its long-term digital strategy, triggered in 2017. For more than seven years now, the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission…

Conference, Digital, Digital competition, Digital economy, Digital markets, Digital Markets Act, Digital Services Act, Digitisation, Enforcement

(University of Vienna)/ /Leave a comment

While core competition law enforcement has been going on for a while, the enforcement of the adjacent digital regulation is just beginning. The conference “Tools for Better Enforcement of EU Law in the Digital Space” dealt with such problems and took place on November 7 and 8, 2024 at the European Legal Studies Institute (ELSI)…

Amazon, Digital, Digital economy, Digital markets, Digital Markets Act, Germany, National competition authorities (NCAs)

(Heinz & Zagrosek Partner mbB, Germany)/ /Leave a comment

On April 24, 2024, the German Federal Court of Justice (FCJ) rejected Amazon’s appeal against the decision of the Federal Cartel Office (FCO) of July 2022, designating Amazon as a gatekeeper under national competition law, Section 19a ARC.  The ruling clarifies important aspects of this provision designed to capture large digital companies (see translation of…