As has been widely reported in the press, Google has decided to adopt a more aggressive approach to the enforcement of the obligation imposed on app developers offering in-app purchases of digital goods on Google Play to use Google's proprietary payment solution "Google Play In-App Billing" and pay the associated 30% commission. At the same … Continue reading Google’s improvements to Google Play: A preliminary review
Month: September 2020
New paper on the App Store shows why antitrust intervention is needed
Last April Damien and I published a paper titled "The Antitrust Case Against the Apple App Store," where we explored various concerns raised by Apple's App Store practices under Article 102 TFEU. We focused in particular on the obligation of apps offering "digital goods or services" (think e.g., of a game app) to use Apple's … Continue reading New paper on the App Store shows why antitrust intervention is needed
ACCC to issue report on app marketplaces in March 2021
Saying that the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission has become quite active in the digital front would be an understatement. After delivering a pioneering report into digital platforms in 2019, it kicked off a five-year inquiry into digital platform services in 2020 and another inquiry in ad tech services (even though one might say we … Continue reading ACCC to issue report on app marketplaces in March 2021
Competition law and digital gatekeepers: Too many studies, too little enforcement?
The past couple of years have seen the launch and, in most cases, completion of multiple studies by competition authorities as well as independent bodies on what needs to be done to address the competition challenges created by large digital platforms (see, e.g., the UK Furman report, the U.S. Stigler report, the EC Competition Policy … Continue reading Competition law and digital gatekeepers: Too many studies, too little enforcement?