Upcoming reform to German competition law regime?

It is reported that Germany’s Ministry of Economy will consider the results of a study which aimed at boosting the competition law tools available to German competition law authorities to act against companies, particularly in the digital economy. In particular, the study suggested that the threshold for regulatory intervention should be lowered in some cases,…

UK Government announces expert panel on competition law in a digital age

The UK Government has announced that it is establishing an expert panel led by Jason Furman, Harvard Professor and economic adviser to former US President Barack Obama, in order to examine the impact of digital technology companies on competition and consumer behaviour. The announcement was made along with the publication of a government report on…

Government Response to UK Advertising in a Digital Age Report

The House of Lords Select Committee on Communications has made a series of recommendations on UK Advertising in a Digital Age. The Government has issued its response to the recommendations “for which the Government is directly responsible.” The Committee recommended (Recommendation 2) that where businesses fail to self-regulate adequately, the Government should propose legislation to…

Practical competition policy implications of digital platforms

Diane Coyle has published a fascinating paper on potential reform to competition policy to address issues caused by digital platforms. The paper is available here an interesting read. Issues addressed in the paper include: Difficulties defining a multi-sided platform. Undue focus upon short-term pricing elements in competition assessments. The impact of dominance in the digital…

Technopoly: Reform, Redress, and Regulation

Preiskel & Co Partner, Tim Cowen, has co-authored a report with Phillip Blond, published with the support of the Big Innovation Centre, and ResPublica, entitled “Technopoly” and what to do about it: Reform, Redress and Regulation. A fascinating read, the paper takes an overview of the current competition framework, and makes important suggestions for reform.…