Exchanging information with competitors can be a minefield. On 29 November 2022, the Norwegian Competition Authority (NCA) fined Norway’s four largest book publishers and a database provider a total of NOK 545 million (approximately EUR 52 million) in a unique hub-and-spoke information exchange case. This is only one of several information exchange cases being pursued by the NCA and in one of them the parties may face even higher fines.   The books database case In January 2018, the NCA carried out inspections at the premises of the four largest publishing houses in Norway (the Publishers ..read more

As part of the series of posts on the main developments in Competition Law, we are honored to present for the first time in the series an overview of the developments and trends in Brazilian Competition Law and Policy. Brazil had two important landmarks in 2022: the 10th anniversary of the beginning of the validity of the actual Competition Policy Act (Law nº 12.529 enacted on 30 November 2011 that started its effectiveness on 29 May 2012) and the 60th anniversary of the Brazilian competition authority CADE that was created in 1962, during João Goulart’s presidential term. In 2022, CADE faced ..read more

When, why, and on what evidence can a competition regulator in one jurisdiction push for divestments in global deals? An increasingly active UK Competition and Markets Authority (“CMA”) has been making its presence known, not least in technology mergers. This blog post will review core questions from Meta/Giphy relevant to advising on UK merger clearance risk in future deals: (i) jurisdictional questions; (ii) counterfactual analysis; and (iii) the dominance of procedural over substantive arguments. The piece concludes that, for all the hubbub, the same basic advice for merger clearance applie ..read more

“All animals are equal but some are more equal than others” (George Orwell, ‘Animal Farm’) On 28 November 2022, the Council of the European Union gave its final approval to the new EU Foreign Subsidies Regulation 2022/2560 (the FSR). The regulation addresses distortions created by subsidies that are granted by non-EU countries to companies operating in the EU single market. It lays down the procedural rules for investigating these subsidies mainly in the context of large concentrations and bids in large public procurement procedures, together with an ex officio tool to investigate also other ..read more

A year of establishing crucial goals and flourishing development The previous year was flourishing and fruitful for the development of competition law in Kazakhstan. According to the annual report of the Agency for the Protection and Development of Competition of the Republic of Kazakhstan (the “Agency”) on the state of competition and measures to limit monopolistic activity, there were several outstanding achievements: the adoption of a law on the development of competition, and the successful handling of 10 cases regarding barriers to the development of competition. But now it is time to mak ..read more

Factual background Just before 2022 ended the Commission sent a statement of objections to Meta regarding the potential abusive behaviour of Facebook. According to the statement of objections, Facebook may be engaging in (i) abusive tying practices with regard to Facebook Marketplace as users (i.e. consumers) that log into Facebook and are automatically also offered access to the Facebook Marketplace, without the possibility to avoid this from happening, and (ii) the imposition of unfair terms and conditions on competing classified ads service providers that advertise their services through Fa ..read more

Last November, on the 10th anniversary of the Brazilian Competition Act (Law No. 12,529/2012, or BCA), a long-expected regulation aiming at incentivizing actions for antitrust damages was enacted in Brazil (the so-called “Brazilian Private Enforcement Package” – BPEP, or Law No. 14,470/2022). Formerly proposed before the Brazilian Senate in 2016 (Senate Bill 283/2016) and inspired by the US treble damages as well as the EU Damages Directive (Directive 2014/104/EU), this new law strengthens the tools for the implementation of the domestic competition policy. Competition policy has been historic ..read more

Thank you for another wonderful and eventful year in competition law and policy. In 2022, the ten most read blogposts were: Shamsher Kataria v. Honda Siel Cars India Ltd. – Great End, but Means? by Ayushi Singhal (West Bengal National University of Juridical Sciences) What to consider restrictive by object? by Christian Bergqvist (University of Copenhagen) Google Shopping: The General Court takes its position by Johannes Persch (University of Mannheim) Penetrative Pricing: Understanding its Evolution and Rationale Under the Indian Competition Law Regime Through the Revolutionary Jio Case by P ..read more

By now the issues surrounding the Super League need no further introduction. On the one hand, there are monopolists that potentially abuse their dominant position, whereas, on the other hand, there is a controversial collective of clubs, seeking to change or expand Europe’s current football offering. Consequently, the ECJ’s ruling may shape Europe’s sports sector for decades to come. Thus, AG Rantos’ opinion was eagerly awaited, especially since the Court tends to follow the AG opinion. Whereas one may rightly conclude that AG Rantos’ opinion fits neatly with existing case law, the factual und ..read more

The Canadian government has proposed legislation to update and reinforce its national security review process under the Investment Canada Act (ICA). The proposed changes – contained in Bill C-34, National Security Review of Investments Modernization Act (Bill) – are the most significant since the ICA’s national security regime was introduced in 2009.   Proposed New Measures New pre-closing filing regime for investments in prescribed sectors. Investments in certain sectors (as yet undefined) will be subject to a new pre-closing filing and suspensory obligation under the ICA. Currently, on ..read more