Competition Law

Kate McKenna, partner at Matheson, considers the impact of home working on regulators. Recent enforcement action conducted by the Competition and Consumer Protection Commission (CCPC) and the Food Safety Authority of Ireland (FSAI) provides an insight into the dynamic future of unannounced regulator

The Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU) has upheld an EU Commission decision to fine Google €2.4 billion for breaches of competition law. It was held that Google had abused a dominant position in the European market by favouring its own comparison shopping service over competing compa

The General Court of the European Union has upheld a €2.42 billion fine imposed on Google by the European Commission in 2017. The Commission found that Google had abused its dominant position on the market for online general search services in 13 countries in the EEA by favouring its own compar

Matheson partner Helen Kelly has been named as one of the world's top antitrust lawyers by Global Competition Review (GCR). Ms Kelly, who heads Matheson's EU, competition and regulatory group and was the first woman to become an antitrust partner at an Irish law firm, is among 130 lawyers and econom

Facebook could be forced to sell off Giphy, one of the largest online platforms for animated GIFs, following concerns raised by the UK's Competition and Markets Authority (CMA). The CMA has provisionally found Facebook's $400 million merger with Giphy will harm competition between social media platf

The Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) is to be given new powers to fine companies that rip off customers, make misleading claims, or have unfair terms and conditions. It is expected that Kwasi Kwarteng, business secretary, will announce the proposals next week to strengthen the CMA's powers po

The Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) has imposed fines totalling over £260 million for competition law breaches in relation to the supply of hydrocortisone tablets. The fines are the result of a CMA investigation into the conduct of several pharmaceutical firms which found that Aud

Bid rigging will become a criminal offence in Ireland under new legislation aimed at beefing up anti-competition laws. The Competition (Amendment) Bill 2021 will also grant the Competition and Consumer Protection Commission (CCPC) powers to tackle gun jumping in order to relieve pressure on the Dire

The UK's Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) is investigating whether airlines have breached consumers’ legal rights by failing to offer cash refunds for flights they could not lawfully take. The move comes as part of ongoing work by the CMA in relation to holiday refunds during the corona

The Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) has issued advice to the UK government on the design and implementation of the UK’s new pro-competition regime for digital markets. If implemented, the new regime will govern the most powerful tech firms – those with strategic market status (SM

Retail giant Amazon has been charged by the European Commission over its use of sales data on independent retailers to "illegally" obtain an advantage in the European marketplace. In July last year, the Commission opened an in-depth investigation to assess Amazon's use of sensitive data. The data co

The European Commission is "leaning toward" appealing the ruling that US tech giant Apple did not receive illegal state aid from Ireland and does not have to pay €14 billion in back taxes, according to reports. According to Politico Europe, citing two senior EU sources, competition commissioner

Some of the biggest motor insurance companies in Ireland have engaged in anti-competitive cooperation, the competition watchdog has alleged in preliminary findings. The Competition and Consumer Protection Commission (CCPC) today issued preliminary findings to AIG Europe S.A., Allianz PLC, AXA Insura

The European Commission has opened an in-depth investigation to assess the proposed $2.1 billion acquisition of Fitbit by Google under the EU Merger Regulation. The Commission is concerned that the proposed transaction would further entrench Google's market position in the online advertising markets

The proposed €200 million merger between financial firms Link Group and Pepper will be subject to a full investigation by the Competition and Consumer Protection Commission (CCPC). The deal would see Link Group Administration Limited acquire sole control of Pepper Ireland Finance Holdings Limit