Contributors Gen & Temizer | Özer

Teşebbüsler arasındaki bilgi değişimi, rekabet hukukunda önemli bir konudur. Bilgi paylaşımı, rekabeti bozabileceği gibi bazı durumlarda rekabeti artırıcı etkilere de sahip olabilir. Rekabet Kurulu, bilgi değişiminin rekabet kurallarından muaf tutulduğu pek çok karara sahiptir. Son dönemde Kurul, sektörel dernekler tarafından yapılan bazı muafiyet başvurularını reddetmiştir. Kurul, pazar araştırmaları ve bilgi değişimine daha katı bir tutum sergilemektedir. Kurul, teşebbüs birliklerinin pazar araştırmalarına yönelik uygulamalarını incelemektedir. Kurul, bazı başvuruları reddederken, bazı başvurulara da bireysel muafiyet tanımaktadır. Kararlarda verilerin toplulaştırılması ve eskitilmesi önemli bir rol oynamaktadır. Bu kararlar, Kurul'un bilgi değişimi konusundaki hassasiyetini ortaya koymaktadır.

In April 2023, the Turkish Competition Board made several decisions related to competition law, particularly in digital industries. The Board published two analyses related to online advertising and digitalization and launched a sector inquiry into mobile ecosystems. The Authority's preliminary sector enquiry report noted concerns about data privacy and the impact of practices involving self-preferencing and data aggregation on the online advertising industry's competitiveness. The Board analyzed the online sales restrictions for the household appliances distributor BSH and approved criteria for resellers, such as offering the same delivery types and protecting the brand image, while also allowing resellers to operate brick-and-mortar stores.

Microsoft's $68.7 billion acquisition of Activision Blizzard has been blocked by the UK's Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) due to concerns over market power. Microsoft already owns Xbox, Windows, Azure, and Xbox Cloud Gaming, which account for an estimated 60%–70% of global cloud gaming services. The CMA found Microsoft's proposed remedies inadequate, stating that "there are significant risks of disagreement and conflict between Microsoft and cloud gaming service providers." Lukoil has been fined again by Bulgaria's Commission for the Protection of Competition for abusing its dominant position, while the CMA in the UK is investigating sports broadcasters for allegedly fixing the pay for freelance workers.

The European Court of Justice (ECJ) recently shifted its view on attorney-client privilege, now basing it on the principle of protection of private life rather than the right to defense. This expansion of legal professional privilege may have significant implications for competition authorities, including Turkey's Competition Board. To benefit from attorney-client privilege, the ECJ and Turkish Competition Board require correspondence to be between an independent lawyer and client, directly related to the exercise of the right to defense. The impact of the ECJ's decision on local competition authorities remains uncertain.

In December 2022, the Turkish Competition Board approved 18 M&A transactions, initiated a new investigation, and concluded three existing investigations in the FMCG sector. The Board fined FMCG companies, including Coca-Cola and Frito-Lay, EUR 44.3 million for a hub-and-spoke cartel. The Turkish distributor of German household appliances company Schaefer settled resale price maintenance charges with a EUR 150,000 fine. The Board granted unconditional approval for the Saint-Gobain and Dalsan merger. Martı, a Turkish e-scooter company, faced fines for providing false/misleading information but avoided gun-jumping penalties.

EU Advocate General Athanasios Rantos' opinion supports UEFA and FIFA in the European Super League case, stating their rules and sanctions do not violate EU competition law. Israel's Competition Authority fines MBI Pharma EUR 2.2 million for excessive pricing of a genetic disorder treatment drug. The European Commission accepts Amazon's revised commitments, closing investigations without fines. Japan investigates nine companies for alleged bid rigging in the 2020 Tokyo Olympics. Egypt prepares to adopt an ex-ante merger control regime requiring prior approval from the local competition authority.

Turkey's Competition Authority has investigated the largest supermarket chains in Turkey and some of their common suppliers, including Coca-Cola, Pepsi Cola, and Red Bull for engaging in a hub-and-spoke cartel arrangement. Although the supermarkets were found to have infringed competition laws, no fines were imposed due to the principle of non bis in idem, as they had already been sanctioned in 2021 for similar violations. The Board also found resale price maintenance practices in the FMCG sector and imposed administrative monetary fines on some of the suppliers.

On 7 April 2023, the Turkish Competition Authority published its Preliminary Report prepared within the scope of the “Online Advertising Sector Inquiry” that it initiated on 21 January 2021.

On 12 April 2023, the Turkish Competition Authority announced that it initiated a sector inquiry into mobile ecosystems.

In March 2023, the Turkish Competition Board published no reasoned decisions and approved twelve merger and acquisition transactions. The highlight of Turkish competition law in March was that the Board initiated a new sector inquiry regarding the possible competition effects on cities affected by the devastating earthquake that occurred in February.

In July 2021, the Paris Court of Appeal asked the ECJ for clarification on whether national competition authorities are only entitled to review transactions under EU and national merger control rules, or if they can also apply an abuse of dominance assessment and block transactions retrospectively.

In a preliminary investigation involving 12 undertakings operating in the car rental sector, the Turkish Competition Board scrutinised allegations that the car rental undertakings violated Article 4 of Law No. 4054 on the Protection of Competition by exchanging information pertaining to stocks, competitors’ price offers and market shares, and vehicle purchase data.

Hatırlarsınız Elon Musk, 2022 yılında Twitter'ı satın almak için yaptığı teklifle, her zaman olduğu gibi, bir kez daha dünya çapında haber olmuştu. Aylar süren görüşmelerin ve yüzlerce haber ve eleştirinin ardından, Ekim 2022'nin sonlarında da 44 milyar ABD doları karşılığında Twitter’ı satın aldı.

Elon Musk made news globally when he made an offer to buy the social networking platform Twitter in 2022. After months of back and forth and an overwhelming amount of news and critical analysis, Musk’s acquisition of Twitter was completed in late October 2022 for a reported USD 44 billion.

During January and February, the Turkish Competition Board published eighty-one reasoned decisions and approved seventeen merger and acquisition transactions in total.

Germany’s Bundeskartellamt has opened an investigation to decide whether PayPal has taken advantage of its dominant position by using most-favored-nation clauses that limit competition in the online payments market.

In 2018, the European Commission fined French telecoms operator Altice a sum of EUR 124.5 million for breaching the notification and standstill requirements in its acquisition of PT Portugal.