Drapeaux Berlaymont Amidst a series of other initiatives in the area of platform regulation, preparations for the implementation of the Digital Markets Act (“DMA”) are well underway. The Commission is informally meeting with interested stakeholders in order to gather information about specific services and practices that should be covered by the DMA. Companies that meet the DMA … Continue reading The interplay between the DMA and the AVMS Directive
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US Department of Justice sues Google, seeks to break up its ad tech business
On 24 January 2023, in what Assistant Attorney General Jonathan Kanter described as a “historic moment”, the US Department of Justice (“DoJ”) filed an antitrust lawsuit against Google in the US District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia over Google’s ad tech business (the text of the complaint is available here). The lawsuit, joined … Continue reading US Department of Justice sues Google, seeks to break up its ad tech business
Interview with Sarah Cardell, CEO of the CMA
On 17 November, the Chancellor announced in his Autumn Statement that the Digital Markets, Competition and Consumer Bill will be introduced into parliament in the 3rd session. That is of course welcome news for those who consider that ex ante regulation needs to complement competition law in digital markets. In this context, I am delighted that Sarah … Continue reading Interview with Sarah Cardell, CEO of the CMA
The European Commission’s investigation into music streaming: Why Spotify has good reasons to be impatient
Yesterday, a group of app developers and trade associations urged the Commission to take swift action to bring Apple’s anticompetitive conduct to an end. It is easy to sympathize with their impatience. Almost two years ago, i.e., in April 2021, the Commission sent a statement of objections to Apple on the ground that “it distorted … Continue reading The European Commission’s investigation into music streaming: Why Spotify has good reasons to be impatient
Platform antitrust/regulation in 2023: Our eleven predictions
Happy New Year to all! The authors of this blog wish you the best for what will be a thrilling year for those interested in platforms. It has never been more exciting to operate in the tech space. To start the new year, we have put our heads together to make eleven predictions about 2023. … Continue reading Platform antitrust/regulation in 2023: Our eleven predictions
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
The draft Implementing Regulation of the Digital Markets Act: Initial thoughts
On Friday 9 December 2022, the European Commission (“Commission”) published three documents relating to the implementation of the Digital Markets Act. The draft implementing regulation, which provides further practical details as to the implementation of the DMA; Annex 1, which is the Form GD (for gatekeeper designation); and Annex 2, which deals with the format … Continue reading The draft Implementing Regulation of the Digital Markets Act: Initial thoughts
Ofcom’s discussion document on media plurality and online news: Lessons for future regulatory interventions in the UK and beyond
Photo by Dominika Greguu0161ovu00e1 on Pexels.com On 16 November, Ofcom published a discussion document on media plurality and online news. The discussion document sets out Ofcom’s understanding of the role that online platforms, such as social media, search engines and news aggregators, play in the UK news ecosystem. Ofcom’s discussion document focuses on hot (yet understudied) topics. Even though … Continue reading Ofcom’s discussion document on media plurality and online news: Lessons for future regulatory interventions in the UK and beyond
Some additional thoughts on the General Court’s judgment in Google Android
This is the second post on the General Court’s judgment in Google Android (T-604/18) delivered earlier this year (which Google has in the meantime appealed to the Court of Justice). As in the first post (available here), I would like to discuss some issues that caught my attention while reading the judgment, rather than summarize … Continue reading Some additional thoughts on the General Court’s judgment in Google Android
The CMA’s investigation of competition restrictions regarding browsers
On 22 November 2022, the CMA launched a market investigation into cloud gaming and mobile browsers. In this post, I focus on this investigation as it relates to mobile browsers. This blog has already discussed cloud gaming in an earlier post, and we will return to the topic in the future. CMA market investigations must … Continue reading The CMA’s investigation of competition restrictions regarding browsers