Tag: Amazon

Fashionably late:  The UK digital markets legislation starts its passage through Parliament

More than four years after the Furman Report, the British Government has laid its Digital Markets, Competition and Consumers Bill before Parliament.  However, what is perhaps more remarkable than the delays is how closely the Bill sticks to the CMA’s original recommendations. One can always quibble over some of the drafting, but overall this is … Continue reading Fashionably late:  The UK digital markets legislation starts its passage through Parliament →

Spinning Amazon’s Flywheel: How Amazon’s Business Model Harms Competition

Regular readers of this blog may have noticed that we’ve been writing more about Amazon. We believe competition law has not yet fully grappled with its multifaceted business model, which has the Prime membership bundle of products at its core. Damien Geradin and I are therefore pleased to share our detailed paper on Amazon’s business … Continue reading Spinning Amazon’s Flywheel: How Amazon’s Business Model Harms Competition →

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 →

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 →

The fast growing concentration of the connected TV OS market: Getting Ahead of Another Big Tech Duopoly, Before It’s Too Late

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 →

Harnessing digital disruption in the radio industry – an interview with Bauer Media Audio

Today’s blog post is an interview with our friend Philip Pilcher, Director of Policy and Regulatory Affairs at Bauer Media Audio.  Philip has some interesting insights into the future of radio at a time when listening habits are changing and the digital platforms are playing an increasingly central role.  He will describe in particular how … Continue reading Harnessing digital disruption in the radio industry – an interview with Bauer Media Audio →

The UK’s regulatory regime for Big Tech: will the Government dare to make it more effective?

The British Government’s consultation on the design of the new regulatory regime for Big Tech (the “Consultation”) closed on Friday.  We gave our initial thoughts on this legislation back in July.  This blog post picks out some of the other important issues. For the most part, the Government has followed the advice of the CMA’s … Continue reading The UK’s regulatory regime for Big Tech: will the Government dare to make it more effective? →

European Commission to send a statement of objections to Amazon. No, this is not protectionism.

Yesterday The Wall Street Journal broke the news that the EU is about to formally charge Amazon regarding its treatment of third-party sellers on its marketplace. The European Commission - which has been investigating Amazon since September 2018 - is expected to issue a Statement of Objection during the summer, whereby it will lay down … Continue reading European Commission to send a statement of objections to Amazon. No, this is not protectionism. →