Technology, Media & Communications

On June 1, 2023, the Commission published revised Research & Development and Specialization Block Exemption Regulations (“R&D BER” and “Specialization BER”, together the “HBERs”)[1] , as well as revised Guidelines on Horizontal Cooperation (“Horizontal Guidelines”).[2]  The new HBERs exempt certain agreements from the prohibition of Article 101(1) of the Treaty on the Functioning of the EU (“TFEU”), subject to specific conditions, and accordingly create a so-called “safe harbor” for certain forms of horizontal cooperation.  Relatedly, the Horizontal Guidelines aim to guide undertakings in the interpretation and application of the revised HBERs, and thereby in their assessment of “various common types of horizontal cooperation agreements.”[3]

On 4 May 2023, the CMA launched an ‘initial review’ of AI foundation models.[1]  The review follows the UK government’s request in its AI White Paper[2] for UK regulators to consider their role in the development and deployment of AI.  The review is intended to develop competition and consumer protection guidance/principles that will “best guide the development of these markets going forward.”

The UK Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) has identified “roll-up” acquisitions (the acquisition of several targets in the same sector) by financial investors, such as private equity firms, as an enforcement priority.  In this post, we discuss the CMA’s enforcement focus, its recent decisional practice, and implications for merging parties.  The main takeaways are:

In a ruling dated May 4, 2023[1], the French Competition Authority (the “FCA”) ordered interim measures against Meta following a complaint by Adloox, in light of suspicions that Meta was abusing its dominant position on the market for online advertising by imposing unfair conditions for accessing its ecosystem, thereby causing serious and immediate harm to both Adloox and other independent ad verification service providers.  These interim measures are imposed pending a decision on the merits of the case.  

On April 20, 2023, the Commission adopted the 2023 Merger Simplification Package (the “2023 Package”) designed to streamline its procedure under the EU Merger Regulation.[1]  In particular, the 2023 Package (1) expands the types of concentration eligible for treatment under the simplified procedure, (2) streamlines the review of both simplified and non-simplified cases, and (3) simplifies the notification process.

The UK Government has published its long-awaited Digital Markets, Competition and Consumer Bill, including a wide-ranging and far-reaching set of reforms to UK competition and consumer law, along with a new regulatory regime for digital markets.

On January 31, 2023, the French Competition Authority (“FCA”) presented an interactive network graph tool on its website that identifies references made in FCA antitrust publications (such as decisions, opinions and interim measures published between 2009 2021) to its other publications. The visualization tool represents these references in the form of a graph interconnecting FCA’s publications with one another.

On February 10, 2023, the French Constitutional Council (“Conseil constitutionnel”) considered that the second sentence of Article L. 464-2, I, paragraph 1 of the French Commercial Code, which provides that the French Competition Authority (“FCA”) may accept commitments in the context of antitrust litigation proceedings, but says nothing about its power to refuse them, complies with the French Constitution and, on this occasion, confirmed that companies can lodge appeals again FCA decisions rejecting suggested commitments.[1]

On April 20, 2023, the French Competition Authority (the “FCA”) issued an opinion on three articles of an incoming French law aimed at securing and regulating the digital space (the “French draft legislation”), pending the coming into force of EU-wide rules (the “European Data Act”).[1]