Regulating Digital Marketplaces

This webinar in the Government Relations and Public Policy Briefing Series focuses on the state of play and next steps in the EU’s and the UK’s efforts to create comprehensive legal and regulatory regimes for digital trading platforms. We look at initiatives focused on competition in digital markets, such as the recently proposed EU Digital Markets Act (DMA), which imposes extensive obligations on so-called “gatekeeper" platforms. Businesses that may be caught as “gatekeepers" include online intermediation services, online search engines, online social networking services, video-sharing platform services and interpersonal communication services.

As the DMA is working its way through the EU legislative process, the key political issues and divisions are becoming clear in both the European Council and Parliament. Meanwhile, the UK is approaching the same issues very differently, proposing to amend its antitrust law to give more power to the Competition and Markets Authority’s newly created Digital Markets Unit. As a result, the legislative processes and political pressures in the EU and in the UK are likely to differ significantly.

During the session, Norton Rose Fulbright's legal and government relations practitioners discuss some of the most challenging elements of the proposed regime, including its extraterritorial reach. We also discuss the similarities and differences of the EU and UK approaches from a public affairs and legal perspective and what we can expect in the coming months. Finally, we have an opportunity to hear from an expert representing The European Consumer Organisation (BEUC) on the consumers' views about the evolving EU and UK regimes.

We provide the audience with a comprehensive overview of the evolving regulatory approach to digital markets in both the EU and in the UK, and in particular:

• Overview of the proposed DMA regulation, including scope and key requirements;
• Regulatory approaches to “gatekeepers" and extraterritorial application;
• Key contentious points in the DMA legislative review, overview of timeline and next steps;
• The CMA's approach to online platforms regulation and a comparison with the EU process; and
• Consumers' perspective on the ongoing EU and UK developments.

Speakers:

Glenn Hall, Partner, Head of Government Relations and Public Policy, London

Jay Modrall, Partner, Head of Brussels Office, Brussels

Mark Tricker, Partner, London

Anna Carrier, Senior Government and Regulatory Affairs Advisor, Brussels

Vanessa Turner, Senior Advisor Competition, The European Consumer Organisation