African Competition and Consumer Protection Centre, with Alba as Guest, here.
Wednesday, July 31, 2024
Asymmetrical Regulation and What Makes or Breaks A Gatekeeper Lessons for the AfCFTA and COMESA Com
Tuesday, July 30, 2024
Thursday, July 25, 2024
Monday, July 22, 2024
Nigeria’s $220 million fine against Meta previews a clash over market power
Wednesday, July 17, 2024
Tuesday, July 16, 2024
Friday, July 12, 2024
Apple Pay Antitrust case: EC press conference (get your alternative wallets default and ready)
It's obviously hard to get excited about online payment methods, but this is the most important thing to happen at the interface between fintech, big tech, and competition that I can think of.
Press conference here.
Press release here.
Lucky us, Natasha the Great covered it, here.
I wonder how Australian banks - and the @acccgovau - are taking this news, eight years later (from @wavesblog archives https://www.afr.com/companies/financial-services/apple-is-closed-and-controlling-say-banks-as-iphone-dispute-heats-up-20161017-gs4590 - interestingly also, in retrospect, who their economic consultant was.
Wednesday, July 10, 2024
The Public-In-The-Loop and the European Approach to AI Policy and Regulation
From the AI Office trenches, here.
Filmwerkstatt Düsseldorf v. Meta
Dutch Torpedo at Work – AG Collins’ Opinion in the Booking Case
Monday, July 08, 2024
Round Table on recent developments in merger control standards
Competition Commission of South Africa, here.
Enforcing competition law in digital markets and ecosystems: policy challenges and options
Competition Commission of South Africa, here.
Friday, July 05, 2024
Thursday, July 04, 2024
Wednesday, July 03, 2024
Friday, June 28, 2024
Thursday, June 27, 2024
Wednesday, June 26, 2024
Reforming Article 102 TFEU: A European Social Contract Approach?
Inclusive Competition Forum, here.
[FYI Olivier Guersent yesterday said that 102 enforcement is just fine, no need to fix it]
Tuesday, June 25, 2024
ECN DMA Conference in Amsterdam: This is not a de-briefing.
The conference unfolded under the quintessential Amsterdam weather—perfectly sunny and temperate. The venue was notably accessible and comfortable, which, coupled with its considerable distance from the city’s main attractions (a city where, full disclosure, my husband was born), ensured that attendance remained high throughout the event. The dessert buffet was quite impressive, matched only by the quality of the snacks provided during the post-conference reception.
From a substantive standpoint, the conference aimed to showcase the potential of the Digital Markets Act (DMA) to the business community. I can personally attest to the presence of CEOs from a diverse array of small to medium-sized enterprises, not just from Europe. Naturally, there was a risk that discussions might veer towards the non-compliance of gatekeepers; however, I believe this was mitigated, at least to a point. The presentations and ensuing discussions were constructive, both in the plenary sessions and the breakout rooms.
While I'm not sure if new business ideas directly stemming from the DMA emerged, the conference certainly brought to light several research topics (see our call for papers here). It was particularly intriguing to note the presence of investors interested in enterprises that could benefit from the DMA. Remember, navigating the DMA is a marathon, not a sprint. Fingers crossed.
M. Vestager, speech here.
The DMA, A short guide for tech challengers here.
My X posts, unrolled here.
Friday, June 21, 2024
Kenya: Watchdog now goes after tech giants with law review
The Standard, here.
(Disclosure: consulting for Article 19 until Isa comes back, and worked with others on the submission 😎 - great experience for an academic to work a bit for civil society, highly recommended and also necessary, given the current situation)
Thursday, June 20, 2024
Wednesday, June 19, 2024
Friday, June 14, 2024
Monday, June 10, 2024
Thursday, June 06, 2024
Wednesday, June 05, 2024
Monday, June 03, 2024
Friday, May 31, 2024
Thursday, May 30, 2024
Vertical Interoperability in Mobile Ecosystems: Will the DMA Deliver (What Competition Law Could Not)?
G. Colangelo, A. Ribera Martínez, herehere.
Wednesday, May 29, 2024
Monday, May 27, 2024
Saturday, May 25, 2024
Friday, May 24, 2024
Thursday, May 23, 2024
Monday, May 20, 2024
Saturday, May 18, 2024
Tuesday, May 14, 2024
Wednesday, May 08, 2024
AI and the Law: Regulation and Opportunity
Panel moderated by R. Picker (I don't often agree with him, but always learn something), Video here.
Tuesday, May 07, 2024
Pre-pre-print - Innovation Competition in the Generative AI Space: Future-Proofing Competition Policy (again)?
Please let me know if you have any feedback, here (soon on Arxiv).
Friday, May 03, 2024
Thursday, April 25, 2024
Wednesday, April 24, 2024
Monday, April 22, 2024
EU Data Summit of the Konrad Adenauer Stiftung: Always learning something new and unexpected
Programme, here.
Recordings:
Day 1 here.
Day 2 here.
(Study mentioned during the "Level Playing Field in Accessing Vehicle Data?" here, BTW).
Day 3 here.
Second time that I participate in person, the other 4 editions I followed online (and I hereby gratefully acknowledge that I normally use the summit's recordings also as teaching material for my courses).
This time I participated in a transatlantic panel on antitrust (as a humble researcher and observer, I didn't have perhaps tons to say - apart from talking of saffron risotto - but the other two Panelists did - worth watching for their comments and the excellent questions by Samuel Stolton). But I also had a fun dual role as a moderator of a truly insightful DMA panel (first time I moderated a panel - and it showed - but, luckily, my great Panelists didn't need me at all!).2024 Antitrust and Competition Conference
Day one, video here.
How Much Does Antitrust Enforcement Affect Productivity Growth? (8:23)Case Studies: AT&T & IBM (2:07:25)
The Quest for Next: How Antitrust Shapes Competition and Innovation in Computers and Chips (3:45:17)
Case Study: Microsoft (4:48:19)
Case Study: Google (6:11:24)
The End of the Beginning for the Antimonopoly Movement? (7:33:50)
Day two, video here.
Regulatory Competition, the DMA and Innovation (14:05)How (Not) To Regulate AI: Challenges and Opportunities (1:50:54)
The Proper Role of Economics in Merger Review (3:34:20)
Privacy, Property Rights and the Diffusion of AI (4:52:29)
This Conference is NOT Funded by Big Tech (6:20:55)
Sunday, April 14, 2024
The Forgotten Anti-Monopoly Law: The Second Half of Clayton Act § 7
R. Lande, J. Newman, R. Kelly Slaughter, here.
Alternative browsers report uplift after EU’s DMA choice screen mandate
Natasha The Great and I. Mehta, here.
Wednesday, April 10, 2024
Tuesday, April 09, 2024
The DMA in Action: Early Effects and Global Reach
ITIF (supported by all DMA gategeepers but Bytedance - as well as Boeing, the national champion), video will be here.
Saturday, April 06, 2024
'Super Apps' and the Digital Markets Act
Short piece 'invited' by a Journal, preprint here.
Notate Bene: written before the DOJ v. Apple Complaint was filed ;-).
Not a ‘side dish’: New industrial policy and competition
C. Caffarra and N. Lane, here.
BTW: CC blocked me on X because she finds me and/or my views annoying. No hard feelings, her views will always be welcome on this blog!
Friday, April 05, 2024
Friday, March 29, 2024
Antitrust Law in California: 'objective' reports on the topics addressed by experts
California Law Revision Committee, Here.
Thursday, March 28, 2024
Tuesday, March 26, 2024
Tuesday, March 19, 2024
Friday, March 15, 2024
Tuesday, March 12, 2024
Monday, March 11, 2024
Friday, March 08, 2024
‘Super-apps’ and the Digital Markets Act
Abstract
The Digital Markets Act (DMA) aims to ensure
contestability and fairness in digital markets, particularly focusing on
regulating Big Tech companies. The paper explores the DMA's capacity to address
both current and future challenges in digital market contestability and
fairness, spotlighting the trend towards platform integration and the potential
rise of "super-apps" akin to WeChat and KakaoTalk. Specifically, it
investigates WhatsApp, owned by Meta, as a gatekeeper that might expand its
service offerings, integrating additional functionalities like AI and metaverse
technologies. The paper discusses whether the DMA's obligations, such as mandated
interoperability and data portability, can mitigate the emergent risks to
market fairness and contestability from such integrations. Despite recognizing
that the DMA has the potential to address many issues arising from platform
integration, it suggests the necessity for adaptability and a complementary
relationship with traditional antitrust law to ensure sustained contestability
and fairness in evolving digital marketsThursday, March 07, 2024
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Centre for a Digital Society , Video here . These are my very rough talking points on pay or okay in full length (more than I actually had...
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LG Frankfurt am Main, 2-06 O 172/09 (verkündet am 13.05.2009). Lesenswertes aus der Begründung (meine Hervorhebungen): "Vorstellbare ...
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TechCrunch, here .
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Stratechery, here .
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Here (thanks to Netzpolitik).
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G. Kallfass, presentation here .
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Public Knowledge, here .
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SEO by the Sea http://bit.ly/niVXM5.