A blog about competition, regulation and privacy in the digital era
In an insightful article on AdExchanger, Allison Schiff notes that the ad industry is facing two interrelated "existential threats": government legislation (think of e.g., the GDPR or the CCPA) and policy changes coming from big tech (Google and Apple). But, contrary to what one might initially think, it is the platforms' changes that are the … Continue reading How tech platforms act as private regulators of privacy
As we are now less than 6 weeks away from the expected publication by the Commission of its proposals on ex ante regulation for so-called "digital gatekeepers" and the New Competition Tool ("NCT"), rumours abound as to the exact scope and content of these proposals. What seems clear now is that the ex ante regulation … Continue reading The Digital Markets Act : How should ex ante rules look like?
Like many antitrust lawyers, yesterday I spent most of my evening reading the DoJ complaint against Google. Although I need to read again several parts, here is my preliminary analysis summarized in ten points: This is not a political case of the type some predicted. It has nothing to do with Google search being allegedly … Continue reading The U.S. v. Google: A preliminary analysis in ten points
As the Commission has announced that it will issue its proposal for ex ante regulation for so-called digital gatekeepers in the beginning of December, there are growing rumours about the form this regulation will take, the platforms that will be captured and the substantive rules that will be contained in this regulation. As to the … Continue reading What is a digital gatekeeper (Part 2)? The relevance of the single-homing v. multi-homing debate
As the European Commission is digesting the (voluminous) results of its public consultation on the upcoming Digital Services Act (“DSA”) package and preparing a proposal for what is described in its “Inception Impact Assessment” as an “ex ante regulatory instrument for large online platforms with significant network effects acting as gate-keepers in the European Union’s … Continue reading What is a digital gatekeeper?
The French Data Protection Authority (“CNIL”) published yesterday its amended Guidelines and its final Recommendation on the use of cookies and other trackers, marking a “turning point both for the online advertising sector and for internet users, who will now be able to exercise better control over online trackers”. The Amended Guidelines Following the … Continue reading CNIL adopts final Guidelines and Recommendation on the use of cookies and other trackers