Roderick Nieuwmeyer’s Post

In need of a quick update on the Digital Markets Act?

This year is going to bring a shift in competition law and how our regulators intervene in digital markets, with up front regulation of the largest tech players coming into force in the EU tomorrow (UK coming soon!) We summarise the key DMA facts below - do reach out to any of the OC team if you'd like to find out more #digitalmarketsact

⚠ Deadline looming! The DMA seeks to promote fair competition, innovation, and consumer choice. Designated Gatekeepers have until 7 March to comply. The global implications are significant, both for the digital economy and for international cooperation. ❓ So who is affected and how does it apply? 👉 Flick through to get the insight   At Osborne Clarke, our experts in the digital economy are ready to help you understand these regulatory challenges. Reach out to our experts >> | Roderick Nieuwmeyer (Belgium and The Netherlands) | Dr. Sebastian Hack, LL.M. (London), Thomas G. Funke and Manuel Schuster, LL.B., LL.M. (Germany) | Thibaut Marcerou (France) | Enrico Fabrizi and Fabrizio Ducci (Italy | José Ramón Medina García and Luis Castro (Spain) | Katherine Kirrage and Lucy Elliot (UK, DMCCB) | Raphael Brochier (Belgium) #DMA #DigitalMarketsAct #DigitalEconomy #Innovation #EULaw

🔎 In our latest publication on the Digital Markets Act, Academic Director Alexandre de Streel discusses the substantive and procedural principles which play a role in #DMA implementation.   🗝 These principles are derived from the theory of good regulation and good regulatory practices in liberal democracies.   🗝 Both #gatekeepers and the European Commission should feed these principles into DMA implementation, as they will strongly influence the outcome. 📖 Read the chapter now in our recently published book on "Implementing the DMA: Substantive and Procedural Principles" https://lnkd.in/ehZhkgjg   The book also features CERRE academics Marc Bourreau Richard Feasey Amelia Fletcher Jan Krämer and Giorgio Monti.   ▶ Want to hear more? Take a look at the recording of the Digital Platforms Summit, where our academics discuss their research with gatekeepers, third parties, civil society, national regulators and the Commission: https://lnkd.in/eF4M4W_e

The UK's Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) has announced the appointment of three senior directors as it gears up for its expanded role under the new digital markets competition regime, including Cat Batchelor, Tania Van den Brande (formerly at Ofcom), and Euan MacMillan. This comes in the wake of the Digital Markets, Competition and Consumers (DMCC) Act, passed in May of this year... #antitrust #digitalmarkets #competitionlaw #techREG #consumers

In May 2024, the UK Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) published its draft guidance for the digital markets competition regime, as established by the Digital Markets, Competition and Consumers Act (the Act). In response to the public consultation, RBB submitted a reply setting out a number of observations. We acknowledge that the Act has the potential to deliver meaningful benefits to competition in the digital space. Moreover, the CMA’s commitment to adopting an evidence-based approach is welcome. However, implementation is not without risk. It has the potential to impose a significant regulatory burden on firms and to chill competition and innovation, to the detriment of consumers. The draft guidance exacerbates these risks by creating considerable uncertainty as to which firms and activities will be captured by regulation and failing to acknowledge that there is a well-recognised process for assessing substantial market power that can (and should) apply in respect of digital markets. We urge the CMA to provide more clarity, in line with established economic principles, to resolve these issues. Read RBB's response here: https://lnkd.in/evTMujd8 #CompetitionLaw #CompetitionPolicy #DigitalCompetition #RBBEconomics

If you have not yet made it through the 188 pages of the Competition and Markets Authority's Guidance on the Digital Markets Competition and Consumers Act 2024 (or the 452 pages of the Act itself) then never fear - grab a coffee and you can watch (or just listen) to our discussion on some of the main features of the new regime. Many thanks to Oles Andriychuk and the Digital Markets Research Hub for the invitation, and to my panelists Lara Dimitrova Stoimenova and Max von Thun-Hohenstein Yoshioka for their excellent contributions. #DMCCA #digitalmarkets #coffeebreakcontent ********************************************************************** The UK has finally adopted its long-awaited legislation establishing a new pro-competition regime for digital markets. To discuss the main features of the Digital Markets Competition and Consumers Act we organised a panel ( 📹 https://lnkd.in/e-su58-9) with three remarkable participants. Lara Dimitrova Stoimenova – Managing Director of Sigma Economics (ex-Ofcom & CMA) Sarah Long – Partner at Euclid Law Firm Max von Thun-Hohenstein Yoshioka - Director of Europe & Transatlantic Partnerships at the Open Markets Institute Among the topics receiving attention of the speakers are the following: ✔ Open-endedness of goals: bug or feature? ✔ Comparing legislative processes in the EU (the DMA) & the UK (the DMCCA) ✔ The CMA consultation on new digital markets competition guidance ✔ Is the requirement of having so many mandatory consultations good or bad for a new regime? ✔ What potential implications should the CMA be mindful of when consulting on the new guidance bearing in mind the life of Art 102 Guidance Paper ✔ Formally, unlike the DMA, the DMCCA is not a new start but a continuation of competition policy: implications ✔ The elegance of the formula "the CMA [...] will apply this guidance flexibly and may depart from the approach described where there is an appropriate and reasonable justification for doing so" ✔ The level of judicial scrutiny and the role of judicial authorities in the new architecture. ✔ Discussing (the relationship between the) two autonomous procedures: "Conduct Requirements" & "Pro-Competition Interventions" ✔ Changes in merger control ✔ Final offer mechanism (DMCCA) vs. FRAND terms (DMA) ✔ Recommendations to students New video 🎬 https://lnkd.in/e-su58-9

Believe it or not, the team prepared this article before the Authority released its roadmap for 2024 - which is about focusing on exactly these subjects, in the same order: digital, sustainability, purchasing power and overseas territories. Enjoy the read!

The main takeaways of the French Competition Authority's 🔙 2023 antitrust enforcement activity and an outlook for 2024 ⏭ are available in our team's article below. In summary, the FCA remained very active (although the average and total fines imposed decreased compared to 2022) and, looking across the piece, three trends stand out : 1️⃣ The Digital sector remains a top priority for the FCA which issued opinions and statements paving the way for future investigations (ex. cloud, data privacy and generative artificial intelligence), used interim measures in an increasingly global, complex, and fast-paced environment and issued fines against companies raising barriers to entry. 💻 2️⃣ The FCA has also put competition issues relating to sustainability on the top of its agenda, confirming its willingness to treat environmental and health considerations similarly to more traditional parameters of competition. 🌳 3️⃣ The FCA confirmed that relations between suppliers and retailers remain closely monitored as decisions related to vertical practices adopted by the FCA represented 36% of all its infringement decisions in 2023. 🛒 The article investigates these three trends in more detail and draws out takeaways for 2024 cases💡 Nathalie Jalabert-Doury, Jean-Maxime Blutel, Veronica Botnari

The road to adopting the Digital Markets, Competition and Consumers Act was neither the shortest nor the easiest – but finally to the delight of all (quite heterogeneous) groups of the supporters of a new pro-competition approach to shaping digital markets, the legislation has been passed. One of the most active roles in the entire process has been played by the House of Lords, and one of the most engaged and knowledgeable contributors to the co-legislative process was Lord Clement-Jones. As colleagues know, together with Prof. Rupprecht Podszun, Dr Jasper van den Boom and Sarah Hinck I have a privilege to conduct a comparative research project "Shaping Competition in the Digital Age" (focusing on the EU, Germany and the UK). Among various activities, we also have a blog offering original specialised content focusing on the substance of the reforms within the Digital Markets Act; Gesetz gegen Wettbewerbsbeschränkungen; and the Digital Markets, Competition and Consumers Act regimes. Within this research initiative, I just had a pleasure to ask Lord Clement-Jones some questions related to the adoption, implementation, juristic elegance and also eventual pitfalls of the new UK legislation. 💬 https://lnkd.in/eMns3teQ The answers are really informative and thought-provoking. I hope –and I'm sure – those interested in a real comparative analysis, looking at the new law beyond headlines and beyond their own business models, will find these answers really inspirational. We have published already quite a few carefully prepared posts and have much more in the pipeline (and we soon will be expanding our research team), so we invite all interested in the evolution and comparative analysis of these new regimes to subscribe to our newsletter. https://scidaproject.com/ Tim Clement-Jones Rupprecht Podszun Jasper van den Boom Sarah Hinck