Browsing by Subject "Digital Markets Act"
Now showing items 1-2 of 2
-
(2023)In the past decade or so, digital platforms have brought a mass of ease and accessibility into people’s lives by introducing, amongst others, new ways of communicating, shopping and searching for information. However, this ease has not come without problems, as the previous years have shown a concentration of market power in the digital markets with consequences to data privacy as well. It has been a challenge for enforcers to apply a traditional competition law framework to these markets, as they are characterized by their “free” nature, where users in reality pay with their personal data. Prompted by these problems, in 2020 the European Commission proposed a new Digital Markets Act (DMA) to regulate the behaviour of large tech companies, also called gatekeepers. Although the DMA is not strictly speaking a competition law instrument, it has been largely inspired by competition cases. The DMA became applicable in May 2023, with the Commission designating six gatekeepers who will have to comply with the DMA’s obligation by March 2024. While the mentioned interplay between data protection law and competition law has been discussed by academia for a while and the Commission has recognised this, it has hardly been evident in its enforcement practice. However, the interlinkage of data protection and competition law is now witnessed in Article 5(2) of the DMA which was inspired by the German competition authority’s (Bundeskartellamt) Facebook decision where the Bundeskartellamt concluded that Facebook had abused its dominant position by breaching its obligations under the GDPR. The case eventually made its way in front of the CJEU, which recently gave its ruling. Even though the case was decided under Article 102 TFEU, and not under the DMA, the ruling will arguably have consequences in the application of said instrument. This thesis thus examines the relationship of data protection and competition law in the EU, the DMA, especially Article 5(2) thereof, and the Facebook case. Although mainly using the legal doctrinal method, the thesis also reflects on policy choices and actions ought to be taken in order for Article 5(2) of the DMA to achieve its envisaged aims. As this field will rapidly continue to develop, it is advisable to note that changes have been taken into account up until November 2023.
-
(2023)Digitalization requires new legislative tools that can effectively address the issues that are specific to digital markets. In the European Union, cases concerning dominant platforms used to fall under EU competition law and Article 102 TFEU, but this legal framework was sometimes ineffective in regulating issues that exist in digital markets. For instance, the Google Shopping case illustrates one of the difficulties of Article 102 TFEU in relation to digital markets, which are the abuses that are specific to digital markets, such as self-favouring. Digital markets evolve rapidly, and thus they require quick and effective responses from legislators. In order to further regulate digital markets, the European Commission introduced the EU Digital Markets Act (DMA) in 2020 and the DMA rules start to apply in May 2023. The overall objective of the DMA is to increase contestability and fairness in digital markets while simultaneously creating a more effective legal framework. The DMA is a sector-specific EU regulation that regulates the actions of the biggest digital platforms that are called gatekeepers, which offer their services to business users and end users located in the European Union. When the Commission designates a platform as a gatekeeper, the platform must follow the obligations set out by the DMA within six months after the designation. The main goal of this thesis is analysing the effectiveness of the regulation of digital markets after the DMA. As this thesis is finalized in April 2023 and the DMA rules start to apply in May 2023, this thesis focuses on the elements of effectiveness that can be evaluated now. In order to illustrate the effectiveness of the DMA, one of the central elements is the application of the DMA rules to the Google Shopping case. By applying the new legal framework to a case that was judged under the Article 102 TFEU framework, improvements in effectiveness will be portrayed in a more concrete manner. Furthermore, this thesis also examines the potential shortcomings when it comes to the effectiveness of the DMA. One of the most significant issues of the DMA is its inflexibility towards future developments. This thesis argues that while the DMA provides an effective framework for addressing the current issues in digital markets, it is unable to address future developments in digital markets effectively.
Now showing items 1-2 of 2