Tag: ex ante regulation
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The UK’s digital markets regime is now law: 10 talking points
The Digital Markets, Competition and Consumers (“DMCC”) Act is finally now law in the UK. The King signed his assent today (although his views on conflicts of interest in the ad tech stack are still unknown). The legislation was passed in the “wash-up” process on the final day of this Parliament and the country is…
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Interview with Martijn Snoep, Head of the Dutch competition authority
Partners Ruben Elkerbout and Stijn Huijts had the pleasure of catching up with Martijn Snoep, the head of the Dutch Competition Authority (ACM) recently. Mr Snoep moved to the ACM from law firm De Brauw in 2018. He has been at the forefront of many internationally renowned initiatives at the ACM, including an investigation into…
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UK digital markets regime: The Lords have their say
For those of you that have been monitoring the Digital Markets, Competition and Consumers (DMCC) Bill’s journey through Parliament, fear not. The end is in sight. Last November, my colleague Tom Smith wrote about the changes to the Bill as it was leaving the House of Commons. Since then, the Bill has received its first…
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Back in the game: Court of Appeal sides with CMA against Apple in mobile browsers and cloud gaming market investigation
Yesterday, the CMA successfully overturned the Competition Appeal Tribunal’s (CAT) ruling that the CMA’s market investigation reference (MIR) into mobile browsers and cloud gaming was out of time and therefore unlawful. This opens the door to the CMA reopening the MIR which could lead to significant remedies being imposed against Apple. Background The CMA’s MIR…
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UK digital markets regime under attack, but still on course
The Digital Markets, Competition and Consumers Bill is now in the Report Stage in Parliament before it heads to the second chamber, the House of Lords. Trawling through the 87 pages of proposed amendments this week, I was tempted to reach for a hackneyed Winston Churchill quote: “Many forms of Government have been tried, and…
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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…
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Into Uncharted Waters – Making sense of the CAT’s Apple/CMA judgment
In November last year, the UK Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) started a market investigation into the supply of web browsers and browser engines on mobile devices, and the distribution of cloud gaming services through app stores on mobile devices. However, Apple appealed the CMA’s decision to make a market investigation reference (MIR) in the…
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Interview with Tom Fish, Head of public policy and research at Gener8, and formerly Assistant Director at the UK’s Competition and Markets Authority
Tom Smith, Geradin Partners: November 2022 was an important month for the UK’s efforts to curb the power of big tech. The Chancellor announced in his Autumn Statement that the Digital Markets, Competition and Consumer Bill will be introduced into parliament in the 3rd parliamentary session (it is currently rumoured to be scheduled for April…
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Making sense of NCAs’ roles under the DMA – The Dutch proposal
In the run-up to the enactment of the EU’s Digital Markets Act (DMA), the European Commission strongly defended its exclusive jurisdiction to enforce it. Despite valiant efforts on the part of several national competition authorities (NCAs) who wanted a formal role enforcing the new rules, the Commission’s exclusive competence remains largely in place in the…
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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.…