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…

UK government issues consultation on EECC implementation

The UK Government has issued a consultation on its plans to implement the European Electronic Communications Code (the “EECC”). The EECC is an EU Directive reforming the EU regulatory framework for telecommunications with the aim of encouraging more investment in telecommunications infrastructure. Despite the ongoing Brexit process, under current timeframes the UK will still be…

Inmarsat takeover faces regulatory scrutiny in the UK

The UK Competition and Markets Authority (“CMA”) has opened an investigation into the proposed private equity consortium takeover of Inmarsat. Inmarsat is the UK headquartered leading global mobile satellite communications provider of connectivity to ships, aircraft, and generally to locations not covered by traditional mobile networks. Moreover, it is reported that the CMA has also…

European Commission launches antitrust investigation into Amazon

The European Commission has today announced the opening of a formal antitrust investigation against tech giant Amazon. The investigation is to assess whether Amazon’s use of sensitive data from independent retailers selling on its marketplace breaches EU Competition Law. With the European Commission having issued record-breaking fines in recent years against Google for illegal leveraging…