Forward

Europe experienced a particularly hot summer this year, but the heat did not slow down competition authorities and courts. In fact, they made this summer even hotter for digital and competition enthusiasts. Digital and AI markets are under intense scrutiny, with robust actions being taken against large online platforms worldwide. While the Indian summer is yet to begin, the heat will persist through September and October—driven by political shifts rather than climate change. So, savour the last few days with a spicy margarita by the beach or pool, and get ready for the “antitrust days fever” ahead 🕺💃🪩.

“Antitrust day fever,

Big Tech’s shaking, innovation’s waking, time to fight.

Antitrust day fever,

Break the chains, free the lanes, we’ll surf all night.”

From ChatGPT drawing from “Night Fever”

My Work

Analysis: One Year of the Digital Markets Act: Review and Future Directions: The DMA has reshaped the digital landscape in Europe and beyond but has also introduced challenges. The Commission should deepen collaboration with national authorities, non-European countries, and gatekeepers to ensure a more effective framework. The analysis

Analysis: Reflections on the French Report on Generative AI: The French competition authority outlines competition concerns at the upstream level of the GenAI value chain and proposes recommendations. However, more research is needed on computing resources and data. The analysis

External: Antitrust in the Age of Artificial Intelligence: Lessons from “I, Robot”: Miguel Perez Guerra and I argue that the AI sector is competitive and propose AI competition principles to ensure it remains vibrant. The paper

Training: Summer School on Digital and Competition Policies: The summer school offers a comprehensive overview of the fast-changing regulatory and market developments related to digital and AI markets. The summer school

Next month, I will be in Uzbekistan to train the staff of the Uzbekistan Competition Authority, focusing on their recent DMA-like legislation. Feel free to reach out if you are interested in similar training for your team.

Research projects: Let’s work together

I am open to collaborating on digital and competition research projects focusing on generative AI, mobile ecosystems, the transition from search to answer engines, platform regulations, international coherence of digital market regulations, and the intersection between competition and privacy. Additionally, I am seeking funding opportunities from corporations or public institutions to support these endeavours. Please don't hesitate to reach out at your convenience to delve deeper into these topics.

I will also gladly intervene as an expert to help you solve DMA-related issues.

News

Generative AI

Rapid market and regulatory developments. The GenAI sector is evolving rapidly, with both market and regulatory landscapes changing swiftly. Competition authorities are closely monitoring these developments to ensure the sector remains competitive.

The UK 🇬🇧 leads in investigations. The UK Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) has initiated formal Phase 1 investigations into several high-profile partnerships, including the Microsoft/Inflection arrangement and the Amazon/Anthropic partnership. It also requests comments on the Google/Anthropic partnership. Microsoft/Inflection. Amazon/Anthropic. Google/Anthropic

Global 🌎 market studies initiated. Australia 🇦🇺 and South Korea 🇰🇷 have launched comprehensive market studies. Australia's study, part of its broader Digital Platform Services Inquiry, will focus on the impact of GenAI on general search services and broader competition issues in the sector. South Korea will assess the entire GenAI value chain, following similar studies conducted in the UK, Portugal, and France. Australia. South Korea. See all market studies on my GenAI and Competition Hub

International collaboration on GenAI competition. In a significant move, competition authorities from the UK 🇬🇧, US 🇺🇸, and Europe 🇪🇺 issued a joint statement on GenAI competition. They warned they would intervene proactively to prevent potential harm, emphasising their commitment to maintaining a competitive landscape. The joint statement

The US 🇺🇸 is investigating Nvidia. Following investigations in France, the US Department of Justice reportedly scrutinises Nvidia. The investigations focus on Nvidia's acquisition of the chip management software Run and alleged anticompetitive practices related to exclusive agreements and pricing in the networking equipment sector. The investigations

Meta delays AI launches in Europe 🇪🇺. Meta is postponing the launch of its AI models and applications in Europe. This follows a directive from the Irish data protection authority, which prevents Meta from training its models on public personal data from European users. This delay underscores how data protection laws can directly influence market dynamics, with significant implications for competition in GenAI. Meta

OpenAI competes 🥊 in answer engines. OpenAI is set to launch SearchGPT, entering the competitive landscape of answer engines against giants like Google. This move is noteworthy for several reasons: First, OpenAI, which powers Microsoft Bing, will now compete directly with it. Second, OpenAI has yet to reveal how it will monetise SearchGPT, a crucial consideration given the positive marginal costs associated with inference when users call the models to generate output. Finally, OpenAI's partnerships with publishers to access and display their content may require compensation, further complicating its business model. OpenAI. List of partnerships

Google and CharacterAI partnership. Google has entered into a strategic arrangement with CharacterAI, a company known for its large language models (LLMs) that offer personalised experiences. Under this partnership, CharacterAI provides Google with a non-exclusive license to use its LLM technology. In return, Google provided funding and has hired co-founders and some staff, similar to Microsoft's arrangement with Inflection. CharacterAI

Digital Markets Act

DMA in action 🎬. National authorities and courts actively engage with the first wave of DMA and DMA-related cases.

Commission wins 🏆 its first DMA case. The Court of Justice dismissed ByteDance's challenge to its designation under the DMA and ruled that the Commission's designation was justified. The court found ByteDance's arguments unconvincing, marking a significant victory for the Commission. The judgement

National authorities complement the DMA. National authorities continue to enforce other rules against gatekeepers, complementing the DMA's provisions. For instance, the Italian competition authority is investigating Google's DMA compliance, alleging that its linking practices may constitute misleading and aggressive commercial practices. The Spanish competition authority has also opened an antitrust investigation into undisclosed practices concerning Apple's App Store. At the same time, the Consumer Protection Cooperation Network found that Meta’s "pay-or-consent" model violates consumer protection laws, reinforcing preliminary findings by the Commission under the DMA. Italy Google. Spain Apple. Commission Meta

Apple 🍏 updates its app store and choice rules. In response to DMA concerns, Apple is updating its rules for alternative payment options and choices (browser choice screen, default apps, and app deletion) to address compliance issues. Rules on App Store. Rules on choices 

Epic Games on the iPhone. Thanks to the DMA, Epic Games launched its own application store in Europe. While the store is restricted to Europe due to the DMA’s jurisdiction, Epic Games alleges that Apple blocks users outside Europe from accessing it. However, Apple is not legally required to offer alternative app stores beyond Europe. Epic Games

Antitrust

Antitrust continues to shape digital markets. Despite the emergence of digital markets regulations, antitrust remains a powerful tool for addressing competition concerns in the digital sector.

Commission 🇪🇺 accepts Apple Pay commitments. The Commission has accepted commitments from Apple regarding its Apple Pay service, ensuring third-party access to its functionality and complementing Apple’s compliance plan under the DMA. The Commission

Meta faces potential fines 💸 in Europe. The Commission is reportedly considering sanctions against Meta in the ongoing Marketplace case. Interestingly, the UK CMA accepted commitments from Meta in a similar case. Reuters. CMA

Microsoft Cloud investigation closed. CISPE has withdrawn its complaint against Microsoft following a mutual agreement, effectively ending the investigation into Microsoft's cloud services practices in Europe. CISPE

UK 🇬🇧 mobile browser and cloud gaming study. The CMA has released potential remedies to address competition concerns identified in its study of the mobile browser and cloud gaming sectors. These remedies are expected to influence the upcoming code of conduct under the UK's digital markets law. The remedies 

The UK 🇬🇧 has closed its antitrust investigations into app stores. The CMA ended its cases against Apple and Google, citing administrative priorities. Moving forward, the CMA intends to address app store concerns using its new powers under the UK's digital markets law. The investigations

Germany 🇩🇪 takes action on real-time data. The Bundeskartellamt has found that Deutsche Bahn (DB) abused its dominant position by restricting mobility platforms' access to real-time data. Complementing the EU Rail Passenger Rights Regulation, the authority imposes additional access conditions on DB. This case highlights the potential upcoming complementary relationship between competition law and digital regulations mandating data-sharing, including the DMA, Data Act, and Data Governance Act. Germany Deutsche Bahn

The US 🇺🇸 files an antitrust lawsuit against algorithm pricing. The US Department of Justice is suing RealPage, accusing the company of using algorithms to engage in anticompetitive practices in the rental market. DOJ

Google loses US 🇺🇸 antitrust case. A US judge has ruled that Google holds monopoly power in "general search" and "general search text advertising," violating antitrust laws through exclusive agreements with equipment manufacturers to make Google Search the default on smartphones and browsers. A summary

Google has revised its Privacy Sandbox initiative in response to industry concerns. Instead of phasing out third-party cookies on Google Chrome as originally planned, the company will now introduce a user-choice prompt. This prompt will allow users to decide whether to permit third-party cookies via the browser. As I mentioned to GCR, this decision highlights the challenges of a participative approach in shifting an entire industry to a new standard, as such changes inevitably create winners and losers. Meanwhile, in collaboration with the UK data protection authority, the CMA continues its investigation to evaluate Google's new proposal. Google. CMA. My GCR interview

EU 🇪🇺 proposes new guidelines on exclusionary abuse. The Commission is drafting new guidelines on interpreting exclusionary abuse, aiming to provide clearer direction for future enforcement. The guidelines

Vestager to step down 👋. After two terms as Competition Commissioner, Margrethe Vestager will not seek a third term, as Denmark has chosen a different representative for the Commission. The Great Antitrust Lady will be missed. Denmark

Digital Policies

Next Commission’s guidelines. Re-elected President von der Leyden published its political guidelines for the next Commission. What implications does this have for digital and competition policies?

🏋️ Competition Policy:

Von der Leyen plans to adopt a new approach to competition policy aimed at supporting the scaling up of European companies in global markets—essentially, creating European champions. She will review merger laws to incorporate "innovation" and "resilience" into the assessment criteria. France, Germany, and Poland proposed a similar initiative in their 2019 paper "Modernising EU Competition Policy" following the prohibition of the Alstom/Siemens merger. The next Competition Commissioner will play a crucial role in this, as will the French official in charge of mergers.

📥 Policy Consistency:

Speed, coherence, and simplification will be key political priorities under von der Leyen. A new Vice-President for Implementation, Simplification, and Interinstitutional Relations will be appointed to stress-test the entire EU acquis. In digital policy alone, there were 23 files over the last mandate. Von der Leyen will work to simplify, consolidate, and codify legislation to eliminate overlaps and contradictions while maintaining high standards. Addressing the patchwork of national regulations may lead to new European regulations.

💪 Enforcement of Digital Policies:

The focus will be on the implementation and enforcement of digital laws, with an emphasis on ramping up and intensifying the enforcement of the DMA and DSA.

💻 Data Policies:

Von der Leyen will propose a European Data Union Strategy, drawing from existing data rules to ensure a simplified, clear, and coherent legal framework. This framework aims to facilitate seamless data sharing for businesses and administrations while upholding high privacy and security standards. This appears to be a new PR initiative to reinvigorate the existing Communication on a data strategy aimed at ensuring a single market for data.

I will focus on these topics over the coming year. Please feel free to contact me to discuss them further. The political guidelines

Second Review of the GDPR. The Commission's second review of the GDPR concludes that the regulation is effective overall but highlights ongoing inconsistencies in its application across Member States. The report also emphasises that the GDPR operates within a complex and evolving regulatory landscape, intersecting with digital regulations such as the DMA, Data Act, Data Governance Act, and Artificial Intelligence Act. The report

Meta and Spotify call on open-source AI models. They urge policymakers and authorities to adopt a more consistent regulatory approach to enable the development and deployment of open-source AI models. The opinion