Antitrust in a Digital World: Does It Work? – Episode 1

Below, we have provided the full transcript of the first episode of our series Antitrust in a Digital World: Does It Work?. Read below to see the discussion about What Is Next for the Digital Markets Act?.

Morgane TAYLOR:

Good afternoon everyone, or good morning, wherever you’re placed in the world. I’m Morgane Taylor, from The App Association, in case you just joined us. I would like to welcome you to this first session of antitrust in the digital world series, organized jointly by The App Association and Competition Policy International. We have distinguished panelists with us today. And for this session we’ll focus mainly on developments happening in the European Union. With the European Commission, which released a Digital Market Act in December 2020, to regulate online platforms.

And the proposal ends up bringing more fairness and contest-ability in digital markets, and creates new obligations for online platform acting as gatekeepers. So this text will radically change the way digital platforms are allowed to operate in the EU, and will have far reaching consequences on those that do business with them, such as tech SMEs or smaller app developers. And whilst this proposal has many unanswered questions as regards to its implications for the future of European digital economy.

And to talk about this today, I have with me Dirk Auer, Senior Fellow in law and economics at International Center for Law and Economics, and Adjunct Professor