Author: Damien Geradin
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Digital Markets Act (DMA): Where is the Council Headed to?
Any public official you speak to will tell you that the negotiations over the DMA are moving fast. This is certainly good news as the declared objectives of the DMA, i.e., to ensure contestability and fairness for digital markets, are more desirable than ever. While multiple texts are circulating containing amendments of European Parliament committees…
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The Epic Games judgment is out: Some first thoughts
As most readers are likely aware of, on 10 September 2021 Judge Yvonne Gonzalez Rogers (“YGR”) issued her Rule 52 Order after trial on the merits in Epic Games, Inc. v Apple Inc. Based on the trial record, Judge YGR could not ultimately conclude that Apple is a monopolist under federal or state antitrust laws,…
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Some thoughts on the joint NL-DE-FR paper on Strengthening the DMA and its Enforcement
On 7 September 2021, the Dutch, French, and German governments (the so-called “Friends of an Effective DMA”) published a joint paper focusing on two important aspects of the DMA proposal: (i) future-proofness and tailor-made remediation and (ii) the role of the national authorities. Like the first paper these governments published in May 2021, this is…
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Korean bill banning Apple and Google from mandating their in-app payment solutions moves forward
Yesterday, the Korean National Assembly passed a bill that amends the country’s Telecommunications Business Act to prevent app market business operators (i.e., Apple and Google with respect to their app stores) from requiring app developers to exclusively use their in-app purchasing systems (IAP in the case of Apple and GPB in the case of Google).…
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The DMA proposal : Where do things stand ?
The combination of a long week-end and rainy weather in Brussels has allowed me to catch up with my readings on the many papers and reports that have been written in the past few weeks on the DMA proposals by think tanks, academics, lobbyists, companies, and other entities or individuals interested in the topic. It…
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The CMA-ICO’s joint statement on competition and data protection law– A major step forward
It is often thought that data protection policymakers want your personal data to be held within big firms’ walled gardens and shared with no-one, while competition policymakers want big firms to be broken up and your personal data to be freely distributed among firms. Is that right, and if so, what are we going to do…
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The Commission’s SO to Apple and anticompetitive effects: A Rejoinder
In a recent blog post, Pablo Ibanez Colomo responded to the observations I had made on his reaction to the issuance of a Statement of Objections in the Apple music streaming case. In this post, I would like to briefly react to Pablo’s response, but also raise additional questions over the application of the so-called…
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Further thoughts on the Commission’s Statement of Objections to Apple on App Store rules for music streaming providers
One of the great features of competition law as a discipline is that reasonable people can have different views on the application of the law to the same set of facts. There is therefore scope for discussion and, especially in the digital sector, passionate debates. In this respect, my reaction to the news that the…
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The need for coordination among digital regulators: The example of the UK Digital Regulation Cooperation Forum
Work on digital regulation in the UK continues apace. The Digital Regulation Cooperation Forum (DRCF) is an initiative that brings together the four regulators who are most involved in digital matters – the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA), Ofcom, the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) and, since 1 April, the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA). That’s a lot of anachronyms to digest, but don’t stop reading: the DRCF is important! It shows that the…
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What can we learn from Apple and Epic Games’ Findings of Facts and Conclusions of Law in their US litigation?
With the bench trial in the Epic Games’ lawsuit against Apple starting on 3 May 2021 and in the broader context of the various investigations launched against Apple by the European Commission, the Dutch ACM and the UK CMA, the purpose of this blog post is to discuss some of the most interesting aspects (at…