Over the past months, various discussions and debates have taken place concerning the future path of EU competition policy. Central to these discussions was the Draghi Report calling to revamp the EU’s competitiveness and launch a new industrial policy. Some of these discussions were described as reviving “old Europe” mindset and proposing policy directions that…
On 18th November 2024, the Competition Commission of India (“CCI”) made history by imposing a penalty of Indian Rupees 2.13 billion (approximately USD 25.3 million), alongside cease-and-desist directions on Meta for abusing its dominant position (In Re: Updated Terms of Service and Privacy Policy for WhatsApp users). The order was passed in relation to WhatsApp’s…
2024 has been a landmark year for competition law, unfair competition, and foreign direct investment (FDI) screening in Romania, marked by significant changes that have reshaped the regulatory landscape. The Romanian Competition Council (RCC) has solidified its role as a proactive authority, capable of responding swiftly when needed, launching unprecedented enforcement actions in the IT,…
This blog post provides a brief overview of some of the most important developments in Australian competition law and policy in 2024. It has been another busy year for the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC), particularly in the areas of mergers, digital platform markets, supermarkets, and sustainability. Notably, this year also marks the 50th…
The year 2024, in Malta, has seen the first (ever) merger control prohibition decision, a number of ongoing antitrust investigations, and the overturning of a ‘margin squeeze’ judgement by the Competition and Consumer Affairs Appeals Tribunal (an appeals body that has since been abolished) (“Competition Appeals Tribunal”) dating back to 2014. In September 2024 the…
Introduction and summary The year 2024 brought us a lot of developments in Norwegian competition law, including the largest fine ever imposed by the Norwegian Competition Authority (NCA) for violations of competition law, the proposal of a new market investigation tool that will grant the NCA extensive powers to tackle competition challenges, alongside a continued…
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…
The application of competition rules to the conduct and concentrations of employers has been called ‘the new frontier for competition policy’ (see here). This so-called ‘labour antitrust’ has been growing rapidly especially on the other side of the Atlantic over the last fifteen years (see here). ‘All eyes are on labor’ in the United States…
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…
Introduction On 03.12.2024, the Turkish Competition Authority (“TCA”) announced that the Competition Board (“Board”) had adopted the Guidelines on Competition Infringements in Labour Markets (“Guidelines”) with its decision dated 21.11.2024 and numbered 24-49/1087-RM(4), following the publication of the Draft Guidelines on Competition Infringements in Labor Markets (“Draft Guidelines”) and the receipt of public feedback. The…
