(Mar. 4, 2021) On February 10, the Higher Regional Court Munich I (Landgericht München I, LG München I) granted two applications for preliminary injunctions against the German Ministry of Health (Bundesministerium für Gesundheit, BMG) and Google Ireland, Ltd. (Google) requested by NetDoktor.de GmbH (NetDoktor). The court held that the agreement between the BMG and Google […]
Topic: Competition, antitrust, and monopolies, Government, Health, Health information and medical records, Internet, Marketing and advertising
(Feb. 26, 2021) On February 25, 2021, the Australian Parliament passed the Treasury Laws Amendment (News Media and Digital Platforms Mandatory Bargaining Code) Bill 2021 (Cth). The bill, which has been the subject of considerable domestic and international discussion, establishes a “mandatory code of conduct that applies to news media businesses and digital platform corporations […]
Topic: Business ethics, Competition, antitrust, and monopolies, Corporations and associations, Internet, Marketing and advertising, News media and reporting
(Feb. 23, 2021) On January 19, 2021, the Act to Amend the Competition Act to Achieve a Focused, Proactive, and Digital Competition Law 4.0 and Other Provisions (Digital Competition Act) entered into force in Germany. The Digital Competition Act amends the Competition Act (Gesetz gegen Wettbewerbsbeschränkungen, GWB) and other laws to implement the requirements of […]
Topic: Competition, antitrust, and monopolies, Consumer protection, Internet, Social media
(Feb. 4, 2021) On December 15, 2020, the European Commission published two legislative proposals to regulate digital platforms: a proposal for a Regulation on a Single Market for Digital Services (Digital Services Act, DSA) and a proposal for a Regulation on Contestable and Fair Markets in the Digital Sector (Digital Markets Act, DMA). If adopted, […]
Topic: Competition, antitrust, and monopolies, Consumer protection, Internet, Licensing and registration, Social media
(Dec. 8, 2020) On November 13, 2020, the Turkish Competition Authority (CA) announced in a press release that it had fined Google 196.7 million Turkish lira (about US$25.74 million) for breaching competition law rules. The CA was conducting an investigation into allegations that Google had abused its dominance in the general search services market through […]
(July 9, 2020) On June 16, 2020, Turkey’s parliament passed a law amending the country’s Law on the Protection of Competition (LPC). The explanatory memorandum of the bill that became the amending law explains that the main purpose of the amendments is to reflect in Turkish law the developments that have occurred in European Union […]
Topic: Competition, antitrust, and monopolies, Treaties and International Agreements/European Union
(June 3, 2020) On May 8, 2020, the European Commission adopted a second amendment to extend the scope of the Temporary Framework for State Aid Measures to include recapitalization measures and subordinated debt. The Temporary Framework was first adopted on March 19, 2020, allowing a variety of state aid measures otherwise incompatible with European Union […]
Topic: Competition, antitrust, and monopolies, Emergency management, Epidemics, Government lending and loan guarantees, Infectious and parasitic diseases, International organizations, Public health, Small business, Treaties and International Agreements/European Union
(Apr. 10, 2020) On March 19, 2020, the European Commission (Commission) adopted a Temporary Framework for state aid measures (Temporary Framework) to support the European Union economy during the current COVID-19 outbreak. Under the Temporary Framework, member states can temporarily grant state aid in a variety of forms that would otherwise be incompatible with the […]
Topic: Competition, antitrust, and monopolies, Government lending and loan guarantees, International organizations, Small business, Treaties and International Agreements/European Union
(Oct. 23, 2019) On August 26, 2019, the Higher Regional Court of Düsseldorf, Germany, temporarily suspended an order (English summary) of the German Federal Cartel Office (FCO), the country’s highest competition authority, which had restricted Facebook’s ability to process user data. Facebook therefore currently does not have to comply with the order. The decision in […]
Topic: Competition, antitrust, and monopolies, Consumer protection, Data protection, Internet, Social media
(June 6, 2019) On April 23, 2019, the National People’s Congress (NPC) Standing Committee of the People’s Republic of China (PRC or China) adopted an amendment to the PRC Anti-unfair Competition Law, revising provisions of the Law concerning trade secrets. The amended Law took effect on the same day. (NPC Standing Committee Decision of Amending […]
Topic: Competition, antitrust, and monopolies, Cybercrime, Cybersecurity, Trade secrets
