Highlights of recent competition and markets authority (CMA-UK)’s case law on digital platforms

Abstract

The UK Antitrust Authority (Competition and Markets Authority – CMA) is one of the authorities most focused on the impacts of digital platforms in the antitrust field at a global level, with the potential to influence the debate on the subject in other jurisdictions, including Brazil. To advance the discussions on the antitrust treatment of digital platforms, certain merger review precedents of the CMA will be discussed, illustrating the current approach of the authority on the topics of potential competition, killer acquisitions, offline alternatives, multi-homing, and multi-sided market analysis. The cases indicate CMA's special concern about not only current but also potential competitive conditions, given the dynamism of digital markets and their ability to drive traditional antitrust analysis to obsolescence. The conclusion, based on the precedents analyzed, is that antitrust enforcement in the United Kingdom is aligned with CMA's commitment to leading the process of addressing the challenges brought by the digital economy