This book explores the regulatory options for digital platforms and data economies. The trade-offs between the market value of information and individual privacy rights are examined to provide rationale for regulation and policy suggestions. A general conceptual framework is provided for digital...

Key PointsFollowing (price-increasing) competition law infringements, consumer harm is two-fold.Consumers are negatively impacted by (i) the overcharge (they pay more for the goods actually purchased during the infringement period) and (ii) a ‘lost consumption effect’ (they buy less because...

Currently, the European Union finds itself in troubled waters. It has to prove that its benefits outweigh the costs of its endeavour. In this respect, an EU competition policy that focuses on consumer welfare is one way to gain support by the citizens of its member states. The Roaming Regulation...

In August 2008, the Polish Competition and Consumer Protection Authority (CCPA) referred to the European Commission the results of its proceedings concerning the conditions of sale of laptops with a pre-installed Windows operating system. According to the CCPA, Microsoft and laptop manufacturers...

Commissioner Kovacic of the US Federal Trade Commission has stated that “consumer protection laws are important complements to competition policy.” According to the UK Office of Fair Trading, “[c]ompetition and consumer policy are interdependent”; together they “provide a framework for...

The Polish Supreme Court delivered on 3 October 2013 an important ruling (Ref. No. III SK 67/12) concerning the case of PKP Cargo S.A. (hereafter, PKP Cargo) against the Polish Competition Authority – the President of the Office for Competition and Consumer Protection (hereafter, UOKiK). The...