Shaken, not stirred: EU mixes big tech regulation and antitrust

On December 15, 2020, the European Commission (EC) published its long-awaited legislative proposal to regulate so-called “gatekeeper platforms,” the Digital Markets Act (DMA). The DMA will create a new framework to identify gatekeeper platforms; require or proscribe certain gatekeeper practices; and give the EC new powers to conduct investigations and impose both behavioral and structural remedies, such as divestitures.

According to the EC, gatekeeper platforms benefit from extreme scale economies, very strong network effects, a significant degree of user dependence, lock-in effects, a lack of multi-homing for the same purpose by end users, vertical integration, and data driven-advantages. These characteristics make users vulnerable to practices that can substantially undermine the contestability of core platform services and lead to unfair treatment of business and end users.

NRF Brussels-based antitrust and competition lawyer, Jay Modrall, discusses the European Commission’s regulatory agenda and ongoing antitrust reform agenda in a recent article published by Informa Connect. Click here to read more.