Issues in the UK’s forthcoming Digital Markets, Competition and Consumer Bill

On 6 May 2022 the Government confirmed its approach to strengthen digital competition regulation in the UK.[1] The UK is now on the verge of publishing the Digital Markets, Competition and Consumer Bill (the “Bill”) which will be broadly aligned with the EU’s Digital Markets Act (“DMA”). However, will the Bill be fit for purpose?…

European Commission fines Canon €28m for failure to properly notify a merger

The European Commission has fined Canon €28 million after finding that it had partially implemented an acquisition of Toshiba Medical Systems Corporation (“TMSC”) before merger control notification. The EU operates a compulsory notification system, meaning parties must notify the European Commission of plans to merge before the transaction is completed. In this scenario, TMSC had…

CMA fines Casio £3.7m

Following an investigation opened in April 2018, the Competition and Markets Authority (“CMA”) has issued a £3.7m fine against Casio Electronics for pressuring retailers to sell its digital pianos and keyboards at high minimum prices. The practice, known as Resale Price Maintenance, or “RPM”, is against competition law, The fine is the highest the CMA…

Tim Cowen and ResPublica raise questions over CMA’s Platforms and Digital Advertising Investigation

Preiskel & Co Partner, Tim Cowen, has co-authored a submission to the CMA regarding its Statement of Scope for its market study into online platforms and digital advertising. The submission raises some serious concerns regarding the CMA’s definition of the scope of its market study, and is a fascinating read. It can be found here.…

Interim measures sought by European Commission for first time in 18 years

The European Commission has announced a formal investigation into Broadcom, a US chipmaker, regarding alleged abuse of a dominant position in the markets for modem and television chipsets. In doing so, the European Commission has indicated that it intends to impose interim measures to restrain any exclusionary practices the chipmaker may be engaging in. This…