The report explores how competition policy should evolve across the EU.
Background: Competition regulators have recently started to weigh into the debate of how to regulate tech giants. While the initial efforts to regulate big tech revolved around privacy, some regulators (such as the German authority, Bundeskartellamt) have started to examine the market power of the largest platform, and the ways in which such power can be contained. Facebook’s recently announced intention to integrate the messaging platform of Instagram, Messenger and WhatsApp has also triggered regulators’ scrutiny.
The EC report: On 4 April 2019, the European Commission published a report prepared by three special advisers upon the EC’s request. The report concludes that there is no need to rethink the fundamental goals of competition law; however, the characteristics of platforms, digital ecosystems, and of the data economy require readaptation of established concepts and methodologies. To this end, even where consumer harm cannot be precisely measured, strategies employed by dominant platforms aimed at reducing competition should be forbidden in the absence of clear consumer welfare gains. Competition for the market should also be protected, as it provides powerful incentives to innovate and provide services at favourable conditions for users.
Vestager’s stance: The Commissioner for competition, Margrethe Vestager, appeared to endorse the findings of the report. In a speech in Bucharest, she called for authorities to be vigilant and act quickly, especially with regard to access to data for competitors, and on keeping “theories of harm” up-to-date.
