The Digital Markets Act entered into force in November 2022 and the bulk of its provisions will start applying in all Member States from 2 May 2023. With this European Union Regulation, a wide range of obligations and prohibitions arise for companies designated as gatekeepers by the European Commission. These rules are intended to ensure…
In competition policy circles around the world, app stores remain a major topic of discussion regarding the regulation of digital markets. On February 28th, 2023, the European Commission (EC) sent a new Statement of Objections (SO) to Apple, “clarifying its concerns over App Store rules for music streaming providers”. This replaced the original SO, which…
In its judgement on 17 February 2023, Norway’s Supreme Court quashed the Norwegian Competition Authority’s prohibition of the 2019 acquisition of tech start-up Nettbil by media conglomerate Schibsted. This is the very first merger case heard by the Norwegian courts and represents an important development in Norwegian merger control. Prohibition of a Below-Threshold Transaction…
The DMA will start to apply in March 2024. The European Commission (EC) has acquired the compromise to make the process of the DMA’s future implementation, monitoring and oversight of compliance as transparent as possible. After the first stakeholders’ workshop on the ban on self-preferencing, on the 27th of February, the Commission held its second workshop…
Summary The Japan Fair Trade Commission (JFTC) published a 157-page report on 9th February 2023 (see here the press release), focusing on issues in the market structure and the lack of competitive pressure in the markets of essential software for smartphones (mobile OS) and app distribution services, both of which Apple and Google mainly provide….
Lawmakers and Amazon.com are involved in a constant cat-and-mouse game. Amazon.com is the big winner when consumers and businesses extensively use its digital ecosystem. As a reaction, lawmakers regulate big tech companies to protect end users and business users. This blog post argues that these regulations are not always effective and that their application is…
In November 2022, the European Commission published its draft revision of the Market Definition Notice. This is the first time the Notice was revised since its adoption in 1997. The draft revised Notice on Market Definition is an impressive piece of work, which makes clear strides in updating the Market Definition Notice for the future….
Last 23 December 2022, the Bundeskartellamt, the Federal Cartel Office (FCO), sent a statement of objections (SOO) to Google regarding its data processing terms. This SOO follows the Bundeskartellamt’s prior designation as an undertaking with paramount significance for competition across markets under the German DMA-like provision of Section 19a GWB. Looking at the SOO and…
The European Commission has begun the process of creating implementing provisions to ensure the effective enforcement of the Digital Markets Act (DMA). Implementing provisions plague the DMA’s functioning, but the EC has started to fulfil the first of its tasks: to lay down the form, content and other details of notification and submissions pursuant to…
The wheels of the German competition authority’s enforcement of its dedicated rules on digital markets have started to turn (on the technical and substantive aspects of Section 19a GWB, see previous posts here and here). According to the recently introduced rules, the Bundeskartellamt first formally determines that an undertaking is of paramount significance for competition…
