Antitrust enforcement against anticompetitive platform most favored nations (MFN) provisions (also termed pricing parity provisions) can help protect competition in online markets. An online platform imposes a platform MFN when it requires that providers using its platform not offer their...

While the various initiatives in several jurisdictions to impose ex ante regulation on “digital gatekeepers” – i.e., large online platforms that are necessary intermediaries between business users and their customers, and which are typically protected by high barriers to entry – have...

The part of the economy that depends, directly or indirectly, fully or partially, on the flow and analysis of data is growing of importance2. Data-driven businesses are spilling over from the online to the offline economy, changing traditional industries. They are set to become pervasive in the...

The power of the platform’s providers such as Amazon, Google Play or Booking is still rising and the existing standard EU antitrust rules do not seem to be sufficient. Consequently, the P2B Regulation, a new complementary regulation, was adopted. In addition to the regulation from above,...

The emergence of the multi-sided platform business model has had a profound impact on the news publishing industry. By acting as gatekeepers to news traffic, large online platforms have become unavoidable trading partners for news businesses, and exert substantial bargaining power in their...

This paper highlights some practical approaches for competition authorities pursuing digital platform enforcement cases, given the unique challenges this can involve. It explains the key features of digital platform market dynamics and emphasises the importance of selecting and prioritising...

This paper provides a comprehensive discussion of the deterrence properties of a competition policy regime. On the basis of the economic theory of law enforcement we identify several factors that are likely to affect its degree of deterrence: 1) sanctions and damages; 2) financial and human...

This paper develops a model of the birth and death of cartels in the presence of enforcement activities by a Competition Authority (CA). We distinguish three sets of interventions: (a) detecting, prosecuting and penalizing cartels; (b) actions that aim to stop cartel activity in the short-term,...

We study antitrust enforcement that channels price-fixing incentives through setting fines and allocating resources to detection activities. Antitrust fines obey four legal principles: punishments should fit the crime, proportionality, bankruptcy considerations, and minimum fines. Bankruptcy...