INSTITUTE OF LAW, NIRMA UNIVERSITY AHMEDABAD
JANUARY- MAY 2020 CENTRE FOR COMPETITION Newsletter LAW AND MARKET STUDY 1.0 JAN2020 NATIONAL PAGE 1
JANUARY 2020 NATIONAL NEWS
Allegations Over Maruti Suzuki Regarding Forceful Sale Of Insurance Policy, CCI Probes The Carmaker
The antitrust regulator of the country is investigating into the allegations put upon the Carmaker giant, where it is alleged that the company forces buyers to purchase insurance policies provided by the company itself. The complaint stated that such forceful and India: Zomato Purchases deceitful act leads to the person paying more Uber Eats amount than what is to be paid in the market Zomato, an online food delivery platform for same service. has purchased, its rival, Uber Eats India Based on the same an assessment is carried through a deal between US$160 million and on by the CCI as to the presence of a “tie-in” US$200 million for a 9.99% business stake. agreement between the car manufacturer and Uber Eats India has resulted into a loss the insurance companies to that effect. driven project for Uber. Another rival, Swiggy has more market Competition Commission Of share than Zomato in the country and thus, with this deal Zomato will acquire the users India Releases A Market Study of Uber Eats India making it jump ahead of On E-Commerce Swiggy in the market. “The competition in this space is going to The study was carried out to analyse as to how continue to be intense, and the food can efficiencies for the consumers be achived delivery category is still very small by ensuring a fair competition on merits compared to the overall food service market between the market players. Further, the aim in India,” Goyal wrote on the company’s was also to find ways to reduce information blog. “Through this deal, Uber Eats India asymmetry and a healthy relation between all users now become Zomato users. I want to the stake holders. There lay certain assure Uber Eats India users that their user imbalances and gaps in the e-commerce experience won’t be compromised in any market which are brought out by the study way — if at all, the scale gives us higher and the same needs to be reduced and density to make our deliveries faster.” ended. JAN2020 INTERNATIONAL PAGE 2
INTERNATIONAL NEWS
Facebook Sued by App Developers For Running Anticompetitive Practices Four companies sued Facebook on the ground of anticompetitive practices by cancelling the access of developers on the social media platform to gain advantage over future competitors. “Facebook faced an existential threat from mobile apps, and while it could have responded by competing on the merits, it instead chose to use its might to intentionally eliminate its competition,” said Yavar Bathaee, a partner at law firm Pierce Bainbridge and co-lead counsel in the case.The filing is an escalation of Facebook’s battles with small app developers that had built companies based on access to its user data. Facebook cut off access for certain apps as far back as 2012, while still allowing access for others. EVEN AFTER A RUNNING ANTI-TRUST PROBE AGAINST THE AMAZON, THE COMPANY EXTENDS A $ 1BN. INVESTMENT IN THE COUNTRY
02 A Amid protests and a anti-trust probe against the Amazon, its CEO Jeff Bezos arrives India to attend a two-day summit in the country. The Summit is huge and will be seeing a participation of around 3000 Small and Medium Sized Businesses along with many sharp and fertile brains of the country. The investment will bring thousands of businesses in the online arena which were earlier deprived or were unable to come to a larger international platform. This is in wake of the growth of the business for the company which was around 120 percent over the last year GREECE COMPETITION ENFORCEMENT AGENCY:PROPOSES FOR A NEW REGULATOR TO ENSURE FAIR COMPETITION FOR NEWS AND MEDIA 03 PUBLISHERS The Greece Watchdog on anti-competitive practises has suggested the Government for a new regulator for ensuring fair and transparent competition among publishers and media houses.The same comes in the light of the pluralism that subsists in the news delivery system which is in many ways derogatory to country at large. The opinion also tries to reflect on the real condition of media market and structuring. The need is also felt due to the economic crisis that recently hit the country and also due to transformation of press into digital platforms. U BER DECIDES TO END ITS OPERATIONAL SERVICES IN COLUMBIA 04 Uber, the taxi service provider, has decided to end its services and operations in Colombia due to the Columbian order of ceasing the operations of the Taxi giant. The same comes as an effect of the judge deciding against the Company and siding the competition watchdog of the company.The drivers protested against Uber and other such service providers, who as per the complaints were taking unfair advantage of lack of regulations, by providing less and archaic fees. However, the other operations such as Uber Eats continue to function in the country FEB2020 NATIONAL PAGE 3
FEBRUARY 2020 NATIONAL NEWS India Orders Detailed Probe Against MakeMyTrip, Oyo
India Orders Detailed Probe Against MakeMyTrip, OyoThe Competition Commission of India ordered a detailed investigation of MakeMyTrip (MMT) and Oyo upon receiving a complaint from Treebo Hotels for undertaking unfair business practices. This is the second time in less than six months that the fair trade watchdog has called for an investigation against the two entities after finding prima-facie evhidence of a violation of competition norms. MMT, an online travel agency, has a pact with Oyo, which provides franchising services to budget hotels. The complainant, Rubtub Solutions, operates Treebo Hotels, a competitor to Oyo. Exclusion of Treebo and its partner hotels from listing on MMT platform pursuant to the commercial arrangement between the latter and Oyo, price parity restrictions on the platform and exclusivity condition on Treebo are the three main issues raised by the complainant, as per the watchdog. FEB2020 INTERNATIONAL PAGE 4
INTERNATIONAL NEWS
The EU Court For The First Time Decides On Pay-For- Delay Settlements In Paroxetine Servier v. Commission- General While there are pending appeals on the pay-for-delay settlements in the case Court Overruled EU’s Decision of Lundbeck and Servier, the EU Court for The General court for the first time has reversed the very first times rules the same in the decision of the European Commission finding the Paroxetine case.Pay-for-delay the abuse of dominance. The judgment settlements are the such agreements in highlights that the definition of the market which the value (e.g. a large sum of money) is sine qua non of the cases of Article 102.The is transferred from the patent owner to the Court was of the view that some patent manufacturer of generics in the exchange of settlement agreements between the patent the delay in the market entry. These owner and the generic manufacturers can be settlements give rise to antitrust concerns identified as restrictive of competition by object. which have been thoroughly investigated by Nevertheless, the Court has also concluded that the competition authorities the one of the patent settlement agreements was found legal by object or by effect. Google Decides To Invest Us$10 Billion In US Data Centres And Offices South Africa Brings Into Effect
Sundar Pichai, CEO of Google on February 26 The Price Discrimination And announced to invest US$10 billion in data Buyer Power Provisions services and offices across the United States. This was decided while facing high scrutiny The South African President Ramaphosa and by the regulators.CNBC states that the Minister Patel exactly after a year of signing into law leaders of House Judiciary Committee the provision of price discrimination and buyer recently in September have asked Google to power have brought into effect the amendment of hand over the documents of the company section 9 of the South African Competition Act (price that are raising antitrust concerns. It has been discrimination) together with sec 8(4) (buyer power). announced by the Federal Trade Commission Both the provisions ensure the “effective that it is examining the earlier acquisition participation” of the small and medium owned firms made by the parent company of Google i.e., or businesses by the historically disadvantaged Alphabet persons. MARCH2020 NATIONAL PAGE 5
MARCH 2020 NATIONAL NEWS
India intends to establish an e-Commerce Regulator ITo enable better control mechanism over e-commerce market and compliance, India intends to set up an e-commerce regulator which will enable the platforms to provide information whenever sought by authorities especially amidst the Covid-19 pandemic which has created a surge in online shopping. This regulator can seek any information from the platforms for better implementation an execution of the policies and will ensure fair trade practices. It can impose penalties for non-compliance as well. Also, this regulator will also be applicable to social-media websites.
India: Food delivery platforms under trouble due to complaint by Restaurants
The National Restaurant Association (NRAI) sent notices to Swiggy, Zomato, Uber Eats India and Foodpanda over alleged anticompetitive practices related to deep discounting, abuse of dominant position, and lack of transparency causing problems to mid-sized and large restaurant chains. There was already trouble brewing for the restaurants owing to the dine-in programs of these food delivery platforms. However, the online delivery market is much bigger and fair trade practices have to brought their as soon as possible. Anurag Katriar, NRAI’s Mumbai head said “There is a very strong demand to immediately extend the ‘Logout’ movement to the online delivery vertical as well. However, as a responsible industry body, we want to actively engage with these delivery aggregators to find a solution,” MARCH2020 PAGE 6 INTERNATIONAL INTERNATIONAL NEWS Toshiba, Samsung and Others: Long Running suit settled COVID-19: Delay in Tech Antitrust Inquiry in US The Antitrust inquiry ordered by Federal Trade Commission (FTC) Toshiba, Samsung, Panasonic, Philips, Thomson and Hitachi’s long running suit and Department of Justice (DOJ) of large tech companies, Apple, regarding price fixing got an approval for Amazon, Facebook, Microsoft, Alphabet would be delayed due to US$513 million. It was filed in 2007 on workplace change owing to Covid-19 pandemic. This change will behalf of both upstream and downstream purchasers. Earlier in 2015, result in slow progress. The FTC Director said “Almost all internal the companies had reached a US$542 and external meetings will be handled by telephone or million settlement, but were not given videoconference, and parties should assume that meetings will the green signal due to objections raised before the US Court of Appeals. be held remotely, rather than in person, until further notice,”. He further said, “Despite these procedural changes, the FTC will be conducting the business of the Commission without interruption.”
Covid-19: Competitiveness Council for consequences of the pandemic in EU
The European Commission has decided to adopt a temporary framework in order to facilitate its member states with flexible state rules to back the economy amidst the pandemic outbreak. The Executive Vice-President Margrethe Vestager and Commissioner Thierry Breton came together for a videoconference to discuss the consequences of the pandemic on the European market and internal market of the member states. The discussions were related to the emphasis of a single market and proper coordination among the member states.
US: Class Action suit against for anticompetitive pricing scheme
A consumer class action suit has been brought against the Amazon for “pricing scheme that broadly and anti-competitively impacts virtually all products offered for sale in the US retail e-commerce market,” This alleged anticompetitive practice related to horizontal price fixing which per se violates antitrust law.The complaint is for continuing a practice of most favored nation pricing terms even after Amazon had agreed to abandon the policy before the Federal Trade Commission. This practice resulted product to sell on Amazon at equal or lower prices as compared to other e- retailing platforms. As a result of Amazon’s dominance, the prices have elevated. APRIL2020 NATIONAL PAGE 7
APRIL 2020 India Reaches Agreement with MTN over Data Prices NATIONAL NEWS The Competition Commission of India has reached an agreement with MTN regarding the reduction of its data prices.The agreement includes the reduction of the pricing of 30-day prepaid bundles of up to 1GB of data, which will now cost R99 (US$1.31).According to the agreement, these new prices must be implemented as of May 1, although MTN already implemented these changes earlier this month.The agreement follows the publication of the final report of the Data Services Market Inquiry in December last year.
Covid-19: Facebook files a suit Facebook Takes $5.7B Stake against an Indian Company in India’s Jio Platforms for deceptive advertisements Following the announcement of Facebook’s $5.7 billion investment in Jio Platforms, the Facebook sued LeadCloak Software, created by largest minority investment by a technology Basant Gajjar as it was displaying false company worldwide, Reliance Jio confirmed information advertisements and links for that it would approach the Competition cryptocurrency investment scandals, diet Commission of India (CCI) for its approval. It is medicines with respect to Covid-19 pandemic. reassuring to know that the CCI will scrutinise The Suit filed states that the software is able to this mega deal between two data giants escape the review system in the social media before it can be consummated, unlike platforms. It also lures the users to click on the Facebook’s earlier acquisition of WhatsApp links which have no relation to the which escaped the CCI’s scrutiny. However, advertisements. This software has also used the key question is whether the CCI is other companies like Google. Oath, Shopify to equipped to deal with big data issues and if it carry out its fraudulent activities. would, in fact, go beyond its comfort zone
(traditional competition rules) to analyse the Due to the pandemic, there has been various potential adverse impact of such a mega harm intending players who take benefit of deal. user’s despair state. Earlier, in March, Facebook prohibited false advertisements related to masks as they were duplicate and above price than required. APRIL2020 INTERNATIONAL PAGE 8
COVID-19: Antitrust approves collaboration of INTERNATIONAL US Medical Suppliers NEWS
The Justice Department has decided to approve the request of collaboration by five giant medical suppliers of the EU approves Gategroup’s LSG US, McKesson, Owens & Minor, Cardinal (European) acquisition Health, Medline Industries and Henry Schei, to ensure better distribution and The European Commission has given a green signal to support amidst the Coronavirus Lufthansa Service Group’s (LSG) European business by outbreak and did not hold it to be Gategroup under the EU Merger Regulation subject to compliance conditions laid down by Gategroup. violation of antitrust law. Their This would give Gategroup full control over European collaboration would include LSG. The Executive Vice President said that “The markets for international sourcing, logistics and in-flight catering services need to function well in order to airlift operations. This collaboration is a allow airlines that operate in Europe, to provide air transport result of an emergency response plan services to passengers. In particular in these difficult days due developed by Federal Emergency to the Coronavirus outbreak, we need to ensure that Management Agency (FEMA) and U.S. competition remains once the market picks up. With our Health and Human Services (HHS) approval today of Gategroup’s purchase of the European Department to ensure access and business of LSG subject to remedies we make sure that airlines availability of protection requisites for will continue enjoying quality and innovative in-flight catering the pandemic. services at fair prices to the benefit of passengers.”.
EU approves Sweden and Belgium’s Plan to aid the Aviation Industry
The European Commission gave its green signal to Sweden and Belgium’s initiative to support the airlines industry due to the problems and economic sufferings resulting from Covid -19 pandemic. Sweden’s €455 million (US$497 million) loan was given antitrust approval to aid those airlines which possess its commercial aviation license. The Antitrust chief of EU said that the pandemic has resulted impacted the entire world which was not expected. The loan “aims at providing airlines operating in Sweden with liquidity in these difficult times.” Belgian’s €50 billion loan has been approved. APRIL2020 INTERNATIONAL PAGE 9
UK Private Schools Warned Against Fee Collusion
The Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) has warned British private schools to avoid colluding on plans for fee reductions and discounts as they struggle to adjust to the impact of Coronavirus.
Cambodia to Finalize Antitrust, Competition Draft Law
Cambodia to Finalize Antitrust, Competition Draft LawThe Cambodian government will soon finalize a draft law on antitrust and competition and submit it to the National Assembly for approval, a Ministry of Commerce senior official told. Commerce ministry spokesman SeangThay told that an inter-ministerial committee had previously discussed the law at the Office of the Council of Ministers
EU Pressures Google Over Privacy In Coronavirus Tracing Apps
Brussels has stepped up pressure on Google to respect EU privacy laws as the US search group joins forces with Apple to help in the development of Covid-19 contact tracing apps. The US tech companies are working to develop a system that will alert individuals of possible exposure to Coronavirus in the hope that this will allow cities to emerge from severe lockdowns. However, there are growing concerns among civil society groups and EU regulators that the introduction of such technologies — even on a voluntary basis, could lead to abuse and breaches of individuals’ privacy.
Amazon Accused Of Price-Gouging In CA Class-Action Suit California lawsuit claims the retail giant Amazon has inflated prices for essential goods by more than 600%, violating California consumer-protection laws. California consumers hit Amazon.com with a class-action lawsuit accusing the retail giant of violating state consumer-protection laws by price- gouging during the COVID-19 public health crisis, according to attorneys at Hagens Berman. MAY2020 NATIONAL PAGE 10
India Questions WhatsApp Over Digital Payments Services
Facebook’s WhatsApp could be abusing its position of power MAY 2020 in India by stealthily offering payment options. There was a complaint filed in mid-March that the messenger app was NATIONAL NEWS being used to offer Indian consumers a new digital payment service that circumvents Indian authoritative channels. WhatsApp’s payment service is unlike others in that it is based on the Unified Payments Interface (UPI) standard, so users don’t have to enter a net banking password or ID to send or receive money. The antitrust complaint has been leveled at both Facebook and WhatsApp, but India’s watchdog, Competition Commission of India (CCI), stated only WhatsApp needs to be investigated. The complainant has not been investigated
India Regulators Investigate Zomato-Uber Eats Deal 02 Zomato, an India-based food delivery startup, is reportedly being investigated by regulators for its purchase of UberEats India, which could be seen as violating the nation’s anti-competitive rules. In March, Uber sold its food delivery operation in India to Zomato for US$206 million, according to a regulatory filing by the ridesharing firm. Wherein, Zomato’s biggest competitor is Swiggy, known as India’s No. 1 food delivery business, per industry estimates. The Competition Commission of India (CCI) is looking at two aspects of the deal to see if the acquisition will lead to less competition and whether the two companies should have notified regulators about the transaction. GOOGLE PAY FACES ANTITRUST SCRUTINY IN INDIA 03 India’s antitrust body is looking into allegations that Alphabet Inc’s Google is abusing its market position to unfairly promote its mobile payments app in the country. The complaint alleges the U.S. tech giant more prominently showcases its Google Pay app inside its Android app store in India, giving it an unfair advantage over apps of competitors which hurts consumers. The CCI can direct its investigations unit to conduct a wider probe into the allegations, or dismiss the case if it finds no merit in it. “It is at a consideration stage”. INDIA DISMISSES UNFAIR BUSINESS PRACTICES COMPLAINT 04 AGAINST SBI Fair trade regulator the Competition Commission of India (CCI) dismissed a complaint alleging abuse of dominant position by SBI and collusion with Patanjali Ayurveda and International Traders in a bidding process. The order came on the complaint filed by RH Agro Pvt Ltd, a large scale basmati rice manufacturer. The matter pertains to auctioning of RH Agro’s property by State Bank of India (SBI) after its account was classified as non-performing asset (NPA). MAY2020 INTERNATIONAL PAGE 11
INTERNATIONAL NEWS France Questions Tech Giants’ Impact on Digital Banking
France’s antitrust watchdog announced plans Wednesday to scrutinize the fintech industry and said it will be looking into what impact tech giants including Apple and Google are having on digital payments.The consultation covers three primary areas: the evolution of the payments market in recent years; the “delimitation of the markets concerned and analysis of the position and competitive advantages of the players involved”; and the “commercial practices likely to be implemented by the different actors”.The Autorité imposed a record €1.1bn (US$1.2bn) fine – its biggest fine ever imposed – on Apple in March for engaging in what it sees as anti-competitive practices with two of its wholesalers in France. Apple said it would appeal.
Biggest EU banking merger in a Nissan and Renault decade could be delayed Italy’s Intesa Sanpaolo may have to delay launching a shelve merger plans Renault and Nissan have shelved plans takeover bid for rival UBI until September as antitrust to push towards the full merger former approval for the biggest European banking merger in a leader Carlos Ghosn craved and will decade is taking longer than expected. Intesa unveiled instead fix their troubled alliance to try on February 17 an all-paper exchange offer for UBI to to recover from the coronavirus create the Euro zone’s seventh-largest banking group, pandemic. Nissan has long resisted and had expected to launch the bid at the end of Renault’s proposals for a full-blown June, soon after receiving regulatory clearance. Italy’s merger as executives felt the French antitrust regulator, however, has only recently opened carmaker was not paying its fair share an inquiry into the transaction, and a ruling is only for the engineering work it did in expected towards the end of July. The antitrust body Japan, sowing discord that some has stated the merger would reshape Italy’s banking feared could wreck the partnership. landscape, ending the current “broad symmetry” Now, with carmakers around the world between heavyweights Intesa and UniCredit and reeling from the pandemic, the preventing UBI from leading moves to create a third partners are planning to overhaul an large player. alliance that largely failed to convert its global scale into a competitive advantage beyond the joint procurement of parts. MAY2020 INTERNATIONAL PAGE 12
An eBay shopper hit the online retail platform with a EBAY FACES NEW putative price-gouging class action in California COVID-19 CLASS federal court Monday, May 4, accusing it of ACTION SUIT encouraging sellers to jack up the prices of masks, hand sanitizers, and other products that are in high demand during the coronavirus pandemic.Jeanette Mercado, an Uber and Lyft driver, says that she was forced to pay a 300% markup for the N95 masks she bought on eBay to protect herself from the virus. Report Claims South Korea’s Telecom Market Lacks Competition South Korea’s telecommunications market dominated by three major firms lacks competition and needs to improve its structure to provide better services to consumers, a state-run think tank said Tuesday. The Korea Information Society Development Institute (KISDI) said although competition in the local telecom market, viewed as an oligopoly, has grown over the years, it still appears to be “insufficient.”“The market share and concentration ratio of the country’s top telecom operator dropped and improved index related to the market structure, but this is mainly due to government policy of supporting ‘altteul’ phone operators,” the KISDI said in its report for the 2019 telecom market, using the Korean word for thrifty.
U.S. Congressman David EU Consumer Group Says Cicilline proposes a ban Amazon/eBay Should Be on mergers during the Liable For Faulty Goods pandemic Online marketplaces such as Amazon and The House’s antitrust chairman, Rep. eBay should be liable for any faulty and David Cicilline has proposed for a unsafe goods they sell, claimed the EU’s moratorium on mergers until the biggest consumer group, as Brussels prepares pandemic comes to an end. He argues to overhaul its rules for internet platforms.The EU consumers’ organization (Beuc), which that well-heeled companies and represents consumer bodies across 32 investors could wipe out competition in countries, accused online platforms of selling the market by purchasing into the a wide range of goods that do not comply smaller players. His proposal would with EU safety standards. In a test in February allow M&A transactions only if a of 250 electrical goods, toys, cosmetics, and company has or is about to declared other products from Amazon, AliExpress, bankruptcy. Any other deals will be on eBay, and Wish, two-thirds failed European hold until the pandemic is lifted. safety laws. BOARD OF EDITORS PAGE 13
BOARD OF EDITORS
Patron: Prof. (Dr.) Purvi Pokhariyal
Chief Editor: Prof. Nikita Koradia
Managing Editors: Juhi Hirani Ojasvi Mishra Sneha Sharma
Content Editors: Aarushi Kasliwal Amishi Sodani Ankur Mishra Anusha Shekhawat Naman Sharma
Technical Editor: Khushi Vaswani
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