The European Commission has published proposed changes to the European Union’s Market Definition Notice and asked for anyone interested to comment on the draft.
Market definition is a tool to delineate a specific market by product or service being sold, and by geography served. By defining the relevant product and geographic market in each instance, EU authorities use market definition to identify the boundaries of competition between companies. As such, how each market is defined plays an important role in the way the EU interprets and enforces competition law.
“The main objective of the draft revised Market Definition Notice is to offer more guidance, transparency and legal certainty for businesses to facilitate compliance,” the commission stated in a Tuesday (Nov. 8) press release.
As this is the first time the document is being revised since it was first adopted in 1997, the modifications take into account the major changes that have taken place in the years since, the release stated.
Specifically, in response to widespread digitization, the draft notice offers new guidance on multi-sided platforms (i.e. platforms that serve different but often overlapping markets) and digital ecosystems, according to the release.
As such, the draft recognizes the overlapping and, at times, complicated market effects of contemporary Big Tech platforms, which have contributed to some of the most tortuous EU antitrust cases in recent years.
See also: EU Beefs Up Antitrust Enforcement Team Aimed at Big Tech
On multiple occasions, it cites cases in which Google’s Android operating system and Play Store have been treated as markets by EU courts. It states that “an example of a digital ecosystem would be an ecosystem of products built around a mobile operating system, including hardware, an application store and software applications.”
The public has until Jan. 13 to provide feedback before the commission finalizes its proposals, according to the release. It anticipates the new rules will be adopted by the third quarter of 2023.
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