Digital Competition Law in Europe
Title | Digital Competition Law in Europe PDF eBook |
Author | Marc Wiggers |
Publisher | Kluwer Law International B.V. |
Total Pages | 364 |
Release | 2023-07-14 |
Genre | Law |
ISBN | 940351177X |
‘Digital competition’, a term and concept that has risen to the forefront of competition law, may be viewed as both promising and cautionary: on the one hand, it brings the promises of increased speed, efficiency and objectivity, and, on the other, it entails potential pitfalls such as hard-to-identify pathways to unfair pricing, dominant positions and their potential abuse, restriction of choice and abuse of personal data. Accordingly, jurisdictions around the world are taking measures to deal with the phenomenon. In this concise but thoroughly researched book – both informative and practical – lawyers from two prominent firms with specialised digital competition teams take stock and examine the state of digital competition in the enforcement practices of six competition authorities in Europe, most of these forerunners in the field of digital competition policy and enforcement. The competition authorities surveyed are those of the European Union, the United Kingdom, France, Germany, the Netherlands and Belgium. For each, an overview, spanning the period from 2012 to mid-2022 but including as many landmark cases as possible up to and including December 2022, includes not only landmark cases in which digital technologies have had a significant impact on the competition law outcome but also guidance documents such as speeches, policy statements, industry surveys and research reports. Activities and enforcement practices of the various authorities include the following and more: degree of activity; focus of the activity; enforcement styles; enforcement instruments; visible effectiveness of enforcement; and important insights and outlooks. Each overview contains separate chapters on cartel prohibition, the prohibition of abuse of a dominant position and merger control. Additional chapters – partially written by guest authors (who are all without a doubt true thought leaders: Tristan Byrne, Giuseppe Colangelo, Ai Deng, Teodora Groza, Daniel Mândrescu, Wolf Sauter, Thibault Schrépel, and Gareth Shier) – evaluate the similarities and differences in the enforcement practices and the positive and negative effects of digital competition in the jurisdictions investigated, the economic context, the most important game changers, and a concluding chapter offers recommendations. An indispensable guide to quickly and accessibly acquiring in-depth knowledge of competition law in the digital sector, this matchless volume is a must-read for any practitioner or academic who encounters competition law related to digital markets. The dilemmas and challenges of the new competition law reality – which is here already, like it or not – are clearly explained here for the benefit of regulators, academics, policymakers, judges, in-house counsel and lawyers specialising in competition law and intellectual property law.
EU Competition Law, Data Protection and Online Platforms: Data as Essential Facility
Title | EU Competition Law, Data Protection and Online Platforms: Data as Essential Facility PDF eBook |
Author | Inge Graef |
Publisher | Kluwer Law International B.V. |
Total Pages | 442 |
Release | 2016-10-17 |
Genre | Law |
ISBN | 9041183256 |
All are agreed that the digital economy contributes to a dynamic evolution of markets and competition. Nonetheless, concerns are increasingly raised about the market dominance of a few key players. Because these companies hold the power to drive rivals out of business, regulators have begun to seek scope for competition enforcement in cases where companies claim that withholding data is needed to satisfy customers and cut costs. This book is the first focus on how competition law enforcement tools can be applied to refusals of dominant firms to give access data on online platforms such as search engines, social networks, and e-commerce platforms – commonly referred to as the ‘gatekeepers’ of the Internet. The question arises whether the denial of a dominant firm to grant competitors access to its data could constitute a ‘refusal to deal’ and lead to competition law liability under the so-called ‘essential facilities doctrine', according to which firms need access to shared knowledge in order to be able to compete. A possible duty to share data with rivals also brings to the forefront the interaction of competition law with data protection legislation considering that the required information may include personal data of individuals. Building on the refusal to deal concept, and using a multidisciplinary approach, the analysis covers such issues and topics as the following: – data portability; – interoperability; – data as a competitive advantage or entry barrier in digital markets; – market definition and dominance with respect to data; – disruptive versus sustaining innovation; – role of intellectual property regimes; – economic trade-off in essential facilities cases; – relationship of competition enforcement with data protection law and – data-related competition concerns in merger cases. The author draws on a wealth of relevant material, including EU and US decision-making practice, case law, and policy documents, as well as economic and empirical literature on the link between competition and innovation. The book concludes with a proposed framework for the application of the essential facilities doctrine to potential forms of abuse of dominance relating to data. In addition, it makes suggestions as to how data protection interests can be integrated into competition policy. An invaluable contribution to ongoing academic and policy discussions about how data-related competition concerns should be addressed under competition law, the analysis clearly demonstrates how existing competition tools for market definition and assessment of dominance can be applied to online platforms. It will be of immeasurable value to the many jurists, business persons, and academics concerned with this very timely subject.
Digital markets and online platforms: new perspectives on regulation and competition law
Title | Digital markets and online platforms: new perspectives on regulation and competition law PDF eBook |
Author | Jan Krämer |
Publisher | Centre on Regulation in Europe (CERRE) |
Total Pages | 104 |
Release | 2020-11-18 |
Genre | Law |
ISBN |
Across the world, regulators and policy makers are grappling with how to establish a competitive, safe and fair online environment that also safeguards users’ fundamental rights as citizens. Ahead of the European Commission’s Digital Markets Act (DMA), this book “Digital markets and online platforms: new perspectives on regulation and competition law“, presents CERRE’s latest contribution to the debate with concrete policy recommendations. Together, the policy recommendations in this book present a roadmap that should be pursued for EU policy makers to safeguard competition and innovation in digital platform markets. They can be organised into three key areas for action: (i) More effective enforcement, (ii) increased transparency and switching easiness, and (iii) providing access to key innovation capabilities. “The need to safeguard fair and vibrant competition, which is also seen as an important driving factor for innovation, is nothing new for policy makers. However, the characteristics and complexities of digital markets have challenged some of the traditional approaches.” – Jan Krämer, editor of the book and CERRE Academic Co-Director The book’s recommendations highlight that platform transparency and associated data collection by authorities, as well as data sharing by platforms (initiated through consumers or authorities), are the two most important overarching policy measures for platform markets in the near future. They facilitate enforcement, consumer choice, and innovation capabilities in the digital economy. The contents of this book were presented and debated during a CERRE live debate with guest speakers Anne Yvrande-Billon (Arcep’s Director of Economic, Market and Digital Affairs), MEP Stéphanie Yon-Courtin (Vice-President of the European Parliament’s Committee on Economic and Monetary Affairs) and Javier Espinoza (Financial Times’ EU Correspondent covering competition and digital policy).
Digital Competition Law in Europe
Title | Digital Competition Law in Europe PDF eBook |
Author | Marc Philippe Marie Wiggers |
Publisher | |
Total Pages | 184 |
Release | 2019-09-05 |
Genre | Competition, Unfair |
ISBN | 9789403516943 |
"[This Guide takes the reader on a ‘survey’ of six competition authorities through the European landscape: (i) the European Commission (Commission), (ii) the Competition and Markets Authority (UK competition authority or CMA) and its predecessor the Office of Fair Trading (OFT), (iii) the Bundeskartellamt (German competition authority or Bka), (iv) L'Autorité de la concurrence (French competition authority or Autorité), (v) the Autoriteit Consument & Markt (Dutch competition authority or ACM) and (vi) the Autorité belge de la Concurrence/Belgische Mededingingsautoriteit (Belgian competition authority or BMA-ABC). (4) Ideally, we would like to examine all the European competition authorities, but the presence of language barriers, in particular, has led to the selection of these six competition authorities."--Introduction.
Competition Policy in Europe
Title | Competition Policy in Europe PDF eBook |
Author | Johann Eekhoff |
Publisher | Springer Science & Business Media |
Total Pages | 268 |
Release | 2003-10-23 |
Genre | Business & Economics |
ISBN | 9783540405511 |
The modern industrial states desperately need more competition in order to generate growth and employment. Although the European Union pushed its member states to open several sectors to competition, there is much left to be done. At the same time powerful interest groups try to avoid or to reduce competition on European labour markets, in the health systems, in the transport and energy sector, in public services, and in many other areas. This book shows that there is much to be gained from intensifying competition and that especially consumers would benefit. One task is to lay a sound basis for the application of competition. The other task is to implement and guarantee competition. The authors cover both issues.
Competition, Data and Privacy in the Digital Economy
Title | Competition, Data and Privacy in the Digital Economy PDF eBook |
Author | Maria Wasastjerna |
Publisher | Kluwer Law International B.V. |
Total Pages | 416 |
Release | 2020-07-16 |
Genre | Law |
ISBN | 9403522240 |
Increasingly, we conduct our lives online, and in doing so, we grant access to our personal information. The crucial feedstock of the world economy thus generated - the commercialization and exploitation of personal data and the intrusion of digital privacy it entails - has built an imposing edifice of market power. As we enter the third decade of the 21st century, this detailed exploration of the interlinkage between competition and data privacy takes a critical look at competition policy to evaluate whether the system in its current form and with the existing approach is capable of tackling the challenges raised by the role of personal data in the shift from an offline to an online economy. Challenging the commonplace assumption that privacy has little or no role and relevance in competition law, the author’s penetrating analysis accomplishes the following and more: provides an in-depth understanding of the intersection of competition and privacy in the data-driven economy; surveys legal policy developments on the role of privacy in competition law; underlines the importance of non-price parameters in competition, such as consumer choice; clearly explains why and how competition law can protect privacy among its policy objectives; and addresses challenges in measuring the intangible harm of digital privacy violation in assessing abuse of market power. Recent case law in Europe and elsewhere, a revealing comparison between relevant European Union (EU) and United States (US) practice, the expanded role of the EU’s Competition Commissioner, and the likely impact of such phenomena as the coronavirus pandemic are all drawn into the book’s remit. In her analysis of the growing privacy dimension in competition policy, the author examines the topic from a broad perspective that includes societal, political, economic, historical and cultural elements. Her insightful multidimensional and value-based review will prove of immeasurable value to practitioners, academics, policymakers and enforcers in its identification of implications for business practice as we go forward.
General Principles of EU Law and the EU Digital Order
Title | General Principles of EU Law and the EU Digital Order PDF eBook |
Author | Ulf Bernitz |
Publisher | Kluwer Law International |
Total Pages | 0 |
Release | 2020 |
Genre | Information technology |
ISBN | 9789403511658 |
General Principles of EU Law and the EU Digital Order' addresses the role of general principles in the era of digitalization and the (potential) impact of digitalization on the theory of general principles of union law. Digitalization of societies has important ramifications for citizens and businesses. The digital landscape is rapidly changing, whereas at the same time there are growing concerns about how market access in the European Union?s (EU?s) digital market as well as fundamental rights can be sufficiently safeguarded in the shadow of?big data? and algorithms. This book presents expert analyses of how digitalization raises questions of the future role for general principles of EU law, including the foundational principles of the EU?s fundamental economic freedoms and EU competition rules.