Author: Tom Smith

Interview with Tom Fish, Head of public policy and research at Gener8, and formerly Assistant Director at the UK’s Competition and Markets Authority

Tom Smith, Geradin Partners: November 2022 was an important month for the UK’s efforts to curb the power of big tech. The Chancellor announced in his Autumn Statement that the Digital Markets, Competition and Consumer Bill will be introduced into parliament in the 3rd parliamentary session (it is currently rumoured to be scheduled for April … Continue reading Interview with Tom Fish, Head of public policy and research at Gener8, and formerly Assistant Director at the UK’s Competition and Markets Authority →

The Responsible Online Commerce Coalition (ROCC): Businesses team up to ensure a level playing field in e-commerce

Amazon’s revenues reached half a trillion dollars in 2022, having increased tenfold in a decade. There are few companies as fascinating and impressive as Amazon and arguably no other company occupies such a central position in the modern retail economy in the US and Europe. Its famous e-commerce platform represents more than half of e-commerce … Continue reading The Responsible Online Commerce Coalition (ROCC): Businesses team up to ensure a level playing field in e-commerce →

Amazon settles EU allegations regarding third-party sellers on Amazon Marketplace: some progress made but much remains to be done

The European Commission has accepted a set of legally-binding commitments offered by Amazon to settle two long-running antitrust investigations into whether Amazon has abused its dominant position in e-commerce.  In doing so, the Commission will not issue a formal infringement decision and will not impose a fine.   This is a significant outcome for these … Continue reading Amazon settles EU allegations regarding third-party sellers on Amazon Marketplace: some progress made but much remains to be done →

Full steam ahead for the UK Digital Markets Unit

UK politics has been in a parlous state. Today the UK’s Chancellor of the Exchequer attempted to stabilize the country’s finances by announcing some eye-watering tax rises and spending cuts in the Autumn Statement. However, of more relevance to readers of this blog, he also made a significant announcement about the legislation required to implement … Continue reading Full steam ahead for the UK Digital Markets Unit →

Big Tech’s financial services activities – and their forthcoming regulatory attention

Apple, Google and Amazon (and to a lesser extent, Meta) have been tentatively expanding into the financial services sector for years now. It has been very interesting to watch their strategies and it seems things are hotting up. Damien and I wrote an article on this topic, which was published in the European Competition Journal … Continue reading Big Tech’s financial services activities – and their forthcoming regulatory attention →

Amazon/iRobot: The flywheel spins once more

It was reported last week that the US Federal Trade Commission has started investigating Amazon’s $1.7 billion acquisition of iRobot, the maker of Roomba smart vacuum cleaners. It seems to us that the UK and EU authorities will also have jurisdiction to investigate. Why should anyone (apart from iRobot’s shareholders) care about a large retailer … Continue reading Amazon/iRobot: The flywheel spins once more →

CMA music streaming market study: what’s going on?

Music streaming is a fascinating industry, and many people were looking forward to seeing how the UK's Competition and Markets Authority (“CMA”) had used its wide-reaching information gathering powers to uncover any problems. This is a huge and culturally-important industry for the UK, and it seems to operate in some weird and convoluted ways. There … Continue reading CMA music streaming market study: what’s going on? →

Meta/Giphy court judgment: The CMA’s controversial merger analysis survives, but its procedures don’t

As readers of this blog know, the UK’s Competition and Markets Authority (“CMA”) blocked its first Big Tech merger in the Meta/Giphy case. Meta duly appealed to the UK’s Competition Appeal Tribunal (“CAT”) and the CAT’s judgment was issued last week. The most discussed element of the case has been the CMA’s controversial theories of … Continue reading Meta/Giphy court judgment: The CMA’s controversial merger analysis survives, but its procedures don’t →

The CMA takes matters into its own hands with browsers and cloud gaming market investigation references

The UK’s Competition and Markets Authority (“CMA”) has published its report into mobile ecosystems a few days before its statutory deadline. This market study has focused on mobile browsers, mobile operating systems and app stores. Following the UK Government’s disappointing decision to delay the necessary legislation that will give the Digital Markets Unit (“DMU”) its … Continue reading The CMA takes matters into its own hands with browsers and cloud gaming market investigation references →

The UK’s Digital Markets Unit: we’re not making any progress, but we promise we will “in due course”

In the UK’s slow journey towards its Digital Markets Unit (“DMU”) regime, the Government has published its formal response to last summer’s consultation document (the “Response Document”). We now know that the necessary legislation will not be included in the next session of Parliament, and therefore will not be enacted within the next year, but … Continue reading The UK’s Digital Markets Unit: we’re not making any progress, but we promise we will “in due course” →