Digital markets

Algorithms, Big data, Digital economy, Digital markets, Digital Markets Act, Digital Services Act, E-commerce, European Commission, European Union, New Competition Tool, Online platforms, Platforms, Vestager

(Loyens & Loeff, Netherlands) and (Loyens & Loeff)/ /Leave a comment

“I’ve been wondering how to give a metaphor because these are two quite complex proposals. And the best thing I came to think of was the first-ever traffic light that brought order in the streets, that was actually in the US, in Cleveland Ohio. And that was invented as a response to a major technological…

Digital economy, Digital markets, Digital Services Act, Europe, New Competition Tool, Platforms

(Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Energy)/ /Leave a comment

The current policy debate The European Commission will table two main legislative proposals on digital platforms: the Digital Markets Act (DMA) with new rules regarding the behaviour of gatekeeper platforms in competition, and the Digital Services Act with updated rules on the use of content by platforms, i.e. a reform of the e-commerce-Directive. As, amongst…

Abuse of dominance, Competition enforcement, Competition law, Digital competition, Digital economy, Digital markets, Germany, Legislation

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

The government’s draft for new competition rules, including on (digital) platforms, published in September 2020 (see here) includes a provision specifically aimed at powerful digital gatekeepers, draft Section 19a ARC.  The proposal was debated in parliament on November 25, 2020, is largely expected to be adopted more or less in its current form and to…

Digital markets, Digital Services Act, European Commission, European Union, New Competition Tool, Platforms

(Loyens & Loeff, Netherlands) and , (Loyens & Loeff)/ /Leave a comment

After two rounds of public consultations that ended 8 September 2020, the European Commission (‘Commission’) appears to be on track and make its proposals for new enforcement powers more concrete. The Commission intends to adopt its two definitive legislative proposals before the end of 2020. In this post, we take a look at where the…

Competition law, Concentrations, Digital markets, Ex ante regulation, Joint ventures, Mergers, Netherlands, Online platforms, Uncategorized

(Bird & Bird, The Netherlands) and (Bird & Bird)/ /Leave a comment

Introduction On 20 May 2020 the Dutch competition authority (“ACM”) conditionally cleared a new joint venture between transport company Pon Netherlands B.V. (“Pon”) and Dutch rail operator NS Groep N.V. (“NS”) creating a Mobility as a Service (“MaaS”) platform. The case was referred to the ACM by the European Commission (“Commission”) under Article 9 of…

Abuse of dominance, Antitrust, Big data, Canada, Competition law, Competition policy, Digital competition, Digital markets, Digitisation, E-commerce, E-communications, Enforcement, Merger control, Merger regulation, Mergers, Minority shareholding

(Davies Ward Phillips & Vineberg LLP, Canada)/ /Leave a comment

The Davies Forecast of Top 5 Trends and Issues for Canadian Competition Law in 2020 Jim Dinning, Anita Banicevic and Mark Katz Here is Davies’ annual forecast of Canadian competition law developments for the year ahead. 1. FOCUS ON THE DIGITAL ECONOMY Given the Competition Bureau’s stated priorities during the tenure of current Commissioner of…

Competition, Digital markets, Digitisation, Netherlands, Online platforms

(Bird & Bird, The Netherlands) and (Bird & Bird)/ /1 Comment

Introduction In 2019 several studies have been published and discussions took place about digitalisation, online platforms and competition law. Many of us will probably have read the so-called Crémer, Furman, Stigler, and Lear-reports. The Netherlands did not lag behind. The Dutch government published amongst others a vision on data sharing between businesses and an updated…

Digital markets, Facebook, Merger regulation, Whatsapp

(Mergers and Acquisitions Division, COMESA Competition Commission)/ /Leave a comment

Introduction Most Competition Authorities the world-over that are involved in ex-ante or ex-post merger review process use tools that are in some way universally accepted. This is because these tools have been developed and tested over time. Some of these tools include the merger notification thresholds for determining nexus, the market definition tools to determine…

Abuse of dominance, Digital markets, E-commerce, Enforcement, Germany

(Heinz & Zagrosek Partner mbB, Germany)/ /1 Comment

On July 17, 2019, the German Bundeskartellamt (Federal Cartel Office, “FCO”) terminated its dominance probe into Amazon’s business terms towards sellers on its marketplace after Amazon agreed to various changes, see press release here here. Amazon will implement the changes within 30 days, not only in Germany, but for all of its marketplaces in Europe,…

Competition law, Court of Appeal, Digital markets, Germany, Online platforms, Vertical restraints

(Heinz & Zagrosek Partner mbB, Germany)/ /1 Comment

On June 4, 2019, the Düsseldorf Court of Appeal quashed the decision of the Federal Cartel Office (“FCO”) prohibiting Booking.com to operate so-called narrow most favored nation (MFN) clauses (or best price clauses) on its hotel booking platform with hotels in Germany, see press release here.  It thereby set a (preliminary) end to a long saga…