A blog about competition, regulation and privacy in the digital era
Everything had started well with the excellent Furman report, which emphasized the need to adopt an ex ante regulatory regime that would apply to Big Tech firms in the UK. That report had indeed found that competition rules would not be sufficient to control these firms’ market power. The UK had the lead and was … Continue reading When Brexit means falling behind: The probable death of the DMU regime
Last week, a version of the Digital Markets Act dated 13 April 2022 was leaked. This version is based on the political agreement reached by the Commission, the Council of Ministers and the European Parliament on 25 March 2022. This “final” version (subject to some final adjustments) comprises a fair amount of new language compared … Continue reading The leaked “final” version of the Digital Markets Act: A summary in ten points
The European Commission recently published its final report into the Internet of Things, with Executive Vice-President Vestager stating: “The consumer Internet of Things sector is increasingly becoming part of our everyday life … This is a market with high barriers to entry, few vertically integrated players and concerns about access to data, interoperability or exclusivity … Continue reading The fast growing concentration of the connected TV OS market: Getting Ahead of Another Big Tech Duopoly, Before It’s Too Late
Dear blog readers, I would like to invite you to the above event, which will take place on 19 April 2022 in London from 1 to 6pm. It is possible to attend the event either in-person or online. Please see all details and the registration form here. Access to the conference is free. The event … Continue reading CRA and Geradin Partners Conference on Ad Tech, Competition Policy and Privacy Issues
Yesterday, Spotify announced on its corporate website a multiyear agreement with Google, which “represents a first-of-its-kind option in payment choice and offers opportunities for both consumers and developers.” A parallel announcement was made by Google on the same day. While the exact terms of the agreement are not known, the Spotify announcement says that: “Users … Continue reading Spotify and Google Announce User Choice Billing: A preliminary assessment
In August 2021, the Autoriteit Consument & Markt (“ACM”), the Dutch competition authority, adopted following a two-year investigation, a decision finding that Apple’s App Store payment policies as they applied to dating app providers amounted to an abuse of a dominant position in breach of Article 102 TFEU. As explained in an earlier blog post, … Continue reading Apple’s constructive refusal to comply with the law: A harbinger of things to come?
It is no secret that Microsoft has charted a rather different course compared to Apple and Google when it comes to ex ante regulation – a course aiming to embrace, rather than fight, regulation (see for example, this May 2021 blog post where Microsoft in principle voiced its support for the EU Digital Markets Act). … Continue reading The Microsoft Open App Store Principles in Eight Points
I am very pleased that Dr. Liza Lovdahl Gormsen, who is Senior Research Fellow in Competition Law and Co-Director of the Competition Law Forum at BIICL, has accepted to be interviewed by this blog. Liza made the news last month when she brought a class-action lawsuit against Facebook's parent firm Meta at the UK's Competition … Continue reading An interview with Liza Gormsen regarding her class-action lawsuit against Meta at the UK’s Competition Appeal Tribunal
Over the past couple of years, app developers have engaged on multiple fronts to force Apple to open its App Store monopoly. They have supported legislative initiatives, such as the Digital Markets Act (“DMA”) in the EU, the Open App Markets Act (“OAMA”) in the United States, and legislation in South Korea designed to bring … Continue reading Is Apple a threat to the rule of law?
The Digital Markets Act (“DMA”) is one of the core priorities of the French presidency of the Council of the European Union (“Council”), which commenced on 1 January 2022. According to several reports, the French presidency would like to pursue an aggressive agenda, with trilogue discussions being wrapped up by the end of March and … Continue reading One needed area of improvement for the Digital Markets Act: The designation of gatekeepers