On 18 January 2022, Microsoft announced its future acquisition of Activision Blizzard, which will be the largest tech merger in the history of the United States. The press release voiced concern on a range of competition authorities around the World. Microsoft is one of the three contenders in the market of console-making and by acquiring…
The final text of the DMA, after the Council’s final approval last 18th July, opened up, yet again, speculation on its enforcement. Although the Commissioner for the Internal Market Thierry Breton promptly confirmed that DG Connect would be the Directorate to apply and oversee the compliance of the DMA’s rules and obligations, several questions still…
The rapid development of digital markets has been posing major challenges to competition authorities for some time. The ‘internet giants’ consisting of Google, Amazon, Facebook, Apple and Microsoft have as already known been able to gain and consolidate strong market positions faster than in analogue markets. The previous antitrust law was, according to the own…
On 12 May 2022, the European Court of Justice delivered its preliminary ruling in response to a number of questions referred to it by an Italian court tasked to assess whether the use of customer data (legitimately collected by the ENEL group during a legal monopoly position) to target offers to those same customers once…
On 24 December 2021, the Dutch Authority for Consumers & Markets (ACM) published a summary decision finding an abuse of a dominant position by Apple. The decision dates back to 24 August 2021 but was published only last month following an injunction proceeding aimed at suspending the effects of the ACM’s decision as well as…
The Indian antitrust landscape has recently shifted its focus to the regulation of digital markets. To achieve this end, substantial changes to the country’s merger control mechanisms were proposed in the Competition (Amendment) Bill, 2020 (the Amendment/the Bill). One of the central purposes of these amendments is to prospectively analyse mergers and acquisitions that may…
In early December 2021, Advocate General Rantos delivered his Opinion in a request for a preliminary ruling referred by an Italian court (Case C-377/20). Although AG Rantos’ Opinion is not yet available in English, this will be a case to watch. Indeed, AG Rantos’ Opinion has already generated interest not only because the underlying conduct…
Since the use of digital platforms within daily life and the context of work is on the rise, the competition authorities are focusing more and more on the competitive issues and market failures in digital markets. With the rapid growth of digital markets, each and every day competition regulations confront with grey areas where national…
After deliberating on the matter for a year, DG COMP on the 9th of December published its draft guidance on the application of Article 101 on collective bargaining of the self-employed. This is done in response to the rise and proliferation of the online economy, centred specifically on platforms and greater reliance on freelancers and…
The long-awaited Google Shopping judgment is out (see the press release here and the full decision here). The General Court has dismissed Google’s action almost in its entirety, upholding the fine of € 2.42 billion that the EU Commission issued in 2017 on the company for abusing its dominance as a search engine by favouring…
