Digital markets

Antitrust, Apple, Big data, Competition enforcement, Digital competition, Digital economy, Digital markets, Dominance, Enforcement, Germany, Online platforms

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

In January 2021, the latest reform of the German competition law (“ARC”) entered into force, including significant new rules regarding digital platform markets.  These include new powers for the Federal Cartel Office (“FCO”) under Section 19a ARC regarding digital gatekeepers with paramount cross-market significance for competition (for more details on the new norm, see here). A…

Abuse of dominance, Austria, Digital markets, Dominance, Exemptions, Foreign direct investment, Foreign investment, Jurisdiction, Merger control, Merger Thresholds, Relative Market Power, Sustainability, Turnover thresholds

(MMRA)/ /Leave a comment

On 10 September 2021, certain significant changes to Austria’s competition law entered into force, although some of the merger control related changes will apply only as of 1 January 2022: Merger control. The amendments include a revision of Austria’s revenue-based merger control threshold, the introduction of the significant lessening of competition test, and a broadening…

Abuse of dominance, Advertising, Brand Gating, Data protection, Digital markets, European Commission, European Union, Facebook, France, Germany, Italy, Merger control, Online advertising, Online platforms, Spain, United Kingdom

(Spieker & Jaeger)/ /Leave a comment

When we earlier reported the German Facebook proceedings in terms of a legal opera [Link], this metaphor was, as I am afraid we have to admit, a little ill-fitting. As things now seem, we can observe a whole oeuvre, a whole cinematic universe, as a good number of spin-offs, sequels and side-stories centred around Facebook…

Digital markets, India, Regulation

(L&L Partners New Delhi)/ /Leave a comment

The digital payments sector in India has grown exponentially over the last five years due to deeper data and smartphone penetration. The Unified Payment Interface (UPI) system launched by the National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI) has been the main driver of this growth. FY 2019-20 witnessed UPI transactions in India grow exponentially at the…

Abuse of dominance, Competition Commission of India, Data protection, Digital economy, Digital markets, India, Jurisdiction

(Bennett University) and (Aligarh Muslim University)/ /3 Comments

On 24th January 2021, the Competition Commission of India (‘CCI’) joined an exclusive club of competition law regulators around the world to initiate action in the area of privacy and competition law. The CCI passed a suo moto order directing an investigation into Whatsapp for alleged abuse of dominance as per the Competition Act, 2002…

Digital economy, Digital markets, European Union, Merger control

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

The European Commission’s 254-page decision approving Google’s acquisition of Fitbit (the “Decision”) offered the Commission a so-far unique opportunity to apply the 2019 report on “Competition policy for the digital era’s” (the “Digital Era Report’s”) recommendation to assess acquisitions by “gatekeeper platforms” of much smaller companies active in complementary markets using an “ecosystem” approach.  Google/Fitbit…

Digital markets, Digital Markets Act, France, Germany, Netherlands

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

The draft Digital Markets Act (DMA) has been public for several months now (see a previous blog for our initial review when the draft came out) and opinions on its content continue to roll in. In brief, the DMA aims to lay down a set of rules for certain crucial platform services, so-called gatekeepers. EU…

Digital markets, European Commission, Internet of Things (IoT), Sector inquiries

(White & Case) and (White & Case, Belgium)/ /2 Comments

On 9 June 2021, the European Commission (EC) published a Preliminary Report setting out the initial findings of its sector inquiry into the consumer Internet of Things (“IoT”). The consumer IoT sector encompasses services, devices and technologies that support the interaction of consumers with connected devices, which collect and exchange data over the internet. The…

Digital markets, E-commerce, Sector inquiries, Türkiye

, , (ACTECON)/ /Leave a comment

Recent developments in digitalization have triggered the Turkish Competition Authority (“TCA”) to scrutinize more closely e-marketplace business models. The TCA has carried out a sector inquiry on e-marketplaces for this purpose and a preliminary report (“Report”) has been published on the official website of the TCA on May 7, 2021, in which a wide range…

Competition Commission of India, Digital markets, India, Interim measures

, (Nishith Desai Associates)/ /1 Comment

On 9 March 2021, the Competition Commission of India (‘CCI’) granted two hotel franchisees (Treebo and Fab Hotels) (‘Complainants’) interim relief against the hotel aggregator, MakeMyTrip India Pvt. Ltd. and the Ibibo Group Private Limited (‘MMT-GO’) (‘Interim Order’).[1] CCI directed MMT-GO to re-list Treebo and Fab Hotels on its website. Two things make the order…