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General Court of the EU delivers landmark Google Shopping judgment (Google and Alphabet v Commission, T-612/17)
Continue reading: General Court of the EU delivers landmark Google Shopping judgment (Google and Alphabet v Commission, T-612/17)As readers of this blog will know, on Tuesday 10 November 2021 the General Court (“GC”) delivered its judgment in case T-612/17, Google and Alphabet v Commission, largely upholding the Commission’s 2017 decision in Google Search (Shopping) (AT.39741). This is a landmark (and very aggressive) judgment and a major vindication for the Commission. By way…
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The DMA should stay true to its principles, or it could fail
Continue reading: The DMA should stay true to its principles, or it could failAs readers of this blog know, the core idea behind (and the principle underpinning) the DMA proposal is that a small number of large digital platforms have become “gatekeepers” in that they operate one or more important “gateways” for business users to reach end users. In this context, the DMA rightly proposes to impose on…
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The P2B Regulation is not consigned to oblivion: ACM launches market study, reminding us that transparency in the platform economy is important
Continue reading: The P2B Regulation is not consigned to oblivion: ACM launches market study, reminding us that transparency in the platform economy is importantThe Dutch Authority for Consumers and Markets (ACM) announced a few days ago that it will launch a market study into how platforms deal with the rules laid down in the Platform-to-Business (P2B) Regulation. The P2B Regulation is a regulatory initiative that may not have received the attention it deserves. This could be explained by…
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Harnessing digital disruption in the radio industry – an interview with Bauer Media Audio
Continue reading: Harnessing digital disruption in the radio industry – an interview with Bauer Media AudioToday’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…
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What we learned from the unredacted US States complaint against Google
Continue reading: What we learned from the unredacted US States complaint against GoogleLast Friday, October 22, a coalition of US States led by Texas released an unredacted version of the amended complaint filed against Google over its ad tech business, after a federal judge in New York held that much of the antitrust suit could be unsealed. The original complaint filed in December 2020, echoes the findings…
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The DMA and default positions in search
Continue reading: The DMA and default positions in searchPicking up on our latest post on the direction of the Council with respect to the DMA, we would like to touch on an important issue that seems to have been overlooked by EU lawmakers: the role of default positions in search. Rather surprisingly, both the original DMA proposal of the European Commission and subsequent…
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Digital Markets Act (DMA): Where is the Council Headed to?
Continue reading: 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 UK’s regulatory regime for Big Tech: will the Government dare to make it more effective?
Continue reading: 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…
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Some thoughts on the Google Android hearing before the General Court
Continue reading: Some thoughts on the Google Android hearing before the General CourtAs readers of this blog probably know, last week saw Google present before the General Court its case for annulling the Google Android decision of the European Commission (famous for the staggering amount of the fine imposed – EUR 4.3 billion). The case number is T-604/18 – Google and Alphabet v Commission. I had the…
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Private damages in the new digital regulations – A fine balance to tread
Continue reading: Private damages in the new digital regulations – A fine balance to treadA picture of “astonishing diversity and total underdevelopment”. Thus spoke a 2004 Report that surveyed competition damages actions across the EU at the time. It took ten years from there to adopt the Damages Directive, which finally ensured that anyone who suffered harm caused by a competition infringement can effectively claim full compensation and gave…