This contribution offers a critical socio-legal perspective on the European Commission's Decision in the Google Shopping investigation. In particular, three outstanding issues, concerning Google's data collection, algorithmic transparency and the beneficiaries of the Decision are explored. The...

Proponents of a ‘more economic approach’ (MEA) to EU competition law criticise the case law on abuse of dominance as overly form-based – i.e. as being built on categorizations rather than case-specific assessments of actual competitive effects. While the Commission has largely accepted...

What is wrong with calls for search neutrality, especially those rooted in the notion of Internet search (or, more accurately, Google, the policy scolds’ bête noir of the day) as an “essential facility,” and necessitating government-mandated access? As others have noted, the basic concept...

Rapid development of generative artificial intelligence chatbots like ChatGPT is leading search engine providers to move from search to answer engines. Unlike search engines, which provide search results in the form of blue links to content creators, answer engines generate personalised answers...

The EC antitrust prohibitions are regularly invoked in private litigation as a shield. Private parties also play an important role in public antitrust enforcement through complaints to the competition authorities. However, in marked contrast with the situation in the US, private actions for...

This paper concerns the relationship between public antitrust enforcement and private actions for damages, focusing in particular on the enforcement of Articles 81 and 82 EC. In the first half of the paper, I examine the respective roles of public antitrust enforcement and private actions for...

This article provides some initial thoughts on the European Commission's infringement decision in Google Search. Pending a review of the full decision, the article briefly discusses three critical issues that go to the heart of the decision. The article offers thoughts on the abuse, the theory...

This paper provides an economic and legal theory of harm applicable to the case against Google in Europe over search bias. So far, no clear legal and economic theory has yet been delineated by the European Commission, nor consensus in the literature has emerged with regard to the theory of...

In its investigation into Google’s search practices, Google Search, the Commission alleges that Google abuses its dominant position on the web search market by giving systematic favourable treatment to its “comparison shopping product” (namely, “Google Shopping”) in its general search...

On November 30, 2010, the European Commission announced that Google is under formal antitrust investigation with regard to an alleged abuse of dominance in the online search market. The main concern of the Commission is whether Google has manipulated its unpaid or “algorithmic” search...