In Comity We Trust: Utilizing International Comity to Strengthen International Cooperation and Enforcement Convergence in Multijurisdictional Matters

Competition authorities across the world have taken increasingly divergent enforcement approaches, including in respect of the conduct of companies involved in the high technology and digital markets. New regulatory developments may further accentuate such divergence, increasing the risk of inefficient and conflicting regulatory efforts. With these trends, there is a greater need for competition authorities to advance international cooperation efforts and convergence on enforcement, particularly when enforcers with sufficient parallels in competition laws and enforcement principles are involved. This article proposes that the application of international comity principles would helpfully promote international cooperation and convergence on multijurisdictional enforcement, creating a “win-win” for competition authorities and the respondent businesses subject to competition scrutiny in the form of consistency, predictability and efficiency. In advancing this thesis, this article proposes five considerations where international comity can helpfully promote international cooperation and enforcement convergence in multijurisdictional matters.

By John Pecman & Antonio Di Domenico¹

I. INTRODUCTION

In late 2020, the United States appeared to reinvigorate its efforts in antitrust enforcement in the high technology industry, having recently launched two new lawsuits against Google and Facebook.² By contrast, the EU, having already established a long and difficult record