Regulation of platforms: One size fits all? EU, UK, USA, Germany…(New frontiers of antitrust, 11 June 2021)

Regulating digital platforms: Is sectoral regulation the answer? Laurence Bary Partner, Dechert, Paris 1. In December 2020, the European Commission introduced its proposal for the Digital Market Act (“DMA”). [1] Following the high-profile decisions in the Google cases [2] and the midst of ongoing investigations into Amazon [3] and Apple, [4] the DMA is intended to close the perceived enforcement gap regarding large digital platforms—especially the GAFAM (Google, Amazon, Facebook, Apple, Microsoft). It represents the European Commission’s attempt to address concerns that its existing enforcement powers are insufficient—or not sufficiently nimble—to tackle competition issues in the fast-paced digital world. 2. If adopted, the DMA, which is currently being examined by the European