There are not many things in life that are better than talking antitrust. And luckily, the world provides us with thousands of occasions to do so – competition law conferences, workshops and seminars are everywhere. In order for you not to miss anything, we present an Antitrust Calendar as of today with events in competition law that may be of interest to our readers. Click here, go there, listen closely, speak up – and do not forget to take off…
Facebook hat seine marktbeherrschende Stellung zum Nachteil der Nutzer missbraucht und muss seine bisherigen Nutzungsbedingungen ändern. Zu diesem Ergebnis ist das Bundeskartellamt nach seiner knapp dreijährigen Untersuchung der Geschäftsaktivitäten von Facebook gekommen. Im Anschluss an Justus Haucap und Rupprecht Podszun, die bereits in der vergangenen Woche ihre ersten Gedanken zu der Entscheidung geäußert haben, nimmt nun Kyra Brinkmann, die sich in ihrer Dissertation intensiv mit der Frage eines Marktmachtmissbrauchs durch Verstöße gegen das Datenschutzrecht und gegen andere außerkartellrechtliche Rechtsvorschriften auseinandergesetzt…
The prohibition of the merger between Siemens and Alstom triggered a political discussion. Do we need “European champions”? And does antitrust law possibly stand in the way of a reasonable industrial policy? Competition economists Massimo Motta from the University of Pompeu Fabra in Barcelona and Martin Peitz from the University of Mannheim drafted an open letter that we publish on D’Kart today. Their plea for a competition-oriented policy was signed by numerous other renowned competition economists, including our Düsseldorf colleagues Justus Haucap,…
The Skanska case is a much anticipated ECJ case on damages. The question of this case is who is liable – or put differently: What is an undertaking in the meaning of Art. 101 TFEU? And is TFEU applicable anyway? Advocate General Nils Wahl has spoken and Jörn Kramer reviews his opinion. Dieser Text ist auch auf Deutsch verfügbar. Klicken Sie dazu einfach oben rechts auf die Flagge. Finishing his term as Advocate General, Nils Wahl delivered his now last…
The Bundeskartellamt’s decision on Facebook received a warm welcome by the media in Germany yesterday. Probably, our blog with Justus Haucap’s remarks was the loudest (and most profound) critical voice. Today, Rupprecht Podszun joins in to share his first thoughts on a decision that is definitely a nominee for Innovation of the Year. Dieser Text ist auch auf Deutsch verfügbar. Klicken Sie dazu einfach oben rechts auf die Flagge. Disclaimer first: I have not yet seen the decision. What I know about…
The long-awaited Facebook decision of the Bundeskartellamt is finally out. Professor Justus Haucap from the Dusseldorf Institute for Competition Economics (DICE) shares his first thoughts here on D’Kart. Finally, the Bundeskartellamt (Germany’s Federal Cartel Office, FCO) has today presented its long awaited decision in the Facebook case, following its three year investigation into Facebook’s activities. The FCO’s findings are that Facebook has exploited consumers by collecting and combining too much user data without obtaining users’ consent. Not obtaining user consent…
In Germany, we currently discuss speed limits, air quality measuring points and the reform of the the railway incumbent Deutsche Bahn. Mobility is oh-so-important, traffic lights on green. It looks, though, like there will be no getting through for the mega-merger in the railway industry. Yet, our racing reporter Rupprecht Podszun took a free ride ticket through the antitrust world, and here are his small but significant news, information and pleasantries – our pet project (SSNIPpets)! Red alert This week…