The European Commission levies high fines on companies that break the competition rules. Some of those companies argue that the fines are now too high. So what is too high? If a company breaks the competition rule prohibitions on anti-competitive agreements or the abuse of monopoly power, then the Council has given the European Commission the power to fine that company up to 10% of its annual global turnover with the fine based on the gravity and duration of the illegal behaviour. This provision is neither new nor unique: it was first set out in a Council Regulation in 1962, and most competition laws have similar provisions. What is new is that over the last fifteen years, the absolute level […]

Up until twenty years ago, there were only a handful of competition laws and competition authorities around the world.  Today there are over 100.   Competition rules are increasingly global, increasingly important, and increasingly in the public eye. Competition law disputes are frequently covered in the business pages of newspapers and often make the front page. So what are these competition rules?  They are rules that are aimed at ensuring that markets operate as efficiently as possible: that consumers get the best choice of products and services according to their demands, and that companies that produce those products and services succeed – and those that don’t, don’t. But not everything that could make markets operate efficiently is a matter for […]

The FCC has published its notice of proposed rule-making on net neutrality rules (see also News Release, Genachowski Statement, 
Staff Presentation). Under the draft proposed rules, subject to reasonable network management, a provider of broadband Internet access service: 1. would not be allowed to prevent any of its users from sending or receiving the lawful content of the user’s choice over the Internet; 2. would not be allowed to prevent any of its users from running the lawful applications or using the lawful services of the user’s choice; 3. would not be allowed to prevent any of its users from connecting to and using on its network the user’s choice of lawful devices that do not harm the network; 4. […]

The DOJ and FTC have filed a joint statement of interest in respect of the proposed Google Books settlement. It’s noteworthy for a couple of things. First, they agreed a joint response. Given relations between the FTC and DOJ in recent years, that’s already an achievement. I met Tom Barnett’s chief of staff for an informal chat last September, and he said that even if there were a change in administration, he did not anticipate a fundamental change in enforcement policy, given that the DOJ staff largely agreed with the then enforcement policy. In light of the comments from Christine Varney and Jon Leibowitz in recent months – repeated again at Fordham last week – and in light of the […]