In the last eight months, regulators in Europe have launched action against Meta in four different policy areas. We argue this approach is the result of the predictable and continued reality of regulating perverse incentives in the digital economy.
Antitrust has done little to deter anti-competitive behaviour by big tech, and so a preference for ex-ante rules has emerged. From market definition through to the appeals process, we assess how these regimes intended to curb the power of big tech compare
Operators in Europe have renewed calls for consolidation in mobile. Whilst some regulators and competition authorities might be more receptive than in the past, operators will need to convince them that consolidation really is key to unlocking investment
The UK Government's new competition regime for digital markets is unique around the world. While its key provisions are mostly tightly focused, some risk causing uncertainty and undermining the proportionality of the regime
Fines levied against Big Tech from ex-post competition investigations have totalled more than £14bn since 2017. But competition authorities are now gaining powers to prevent anti-competitive conduct ex-ante, rather than wait to intervene once it’s happened
The Biden administration is expected to bring significant change for telecoms and Big Tech. Overhauling broadband policy to foster competition and reduce the gap between urban and rural areas, restoring net neutrality rules, and continued restrictions on Chinese equipment vendors all seem likely
Ongoing initiatives of antitrust reform have three things in common. Firstly, data is increasingly seen as an asset that can determine whether a market is competitive or not, and could represent a barrier to entry; secondly, authorities demand stronger powers to monitor big tech and act against them, sometimes even ex-ante; and thirdly, markets are increasingly seen as global rather than national in scope. But it remains unclear whether all governments will follow through with legislation.
