Competition

Irish competition authorities will gain greater powers to fine companies for engaging in cartels, bid-rigging or abusive market practices under legislation welcomed as the beginning of a "new era in competition law enforcement". The Competition (Amendment) Act 2022, which has now been signed into la

Businesses with a UK turnover of less than £10 million will be removed from the scope of the UK's merger control regime, the government has announced. Under the "small merger safe harbour", mergers will be exempted from review by the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) where each party's U

The Competition and Consumer Protection Commission (CCPC) has opened the second in a series of public consultations on how it will use new forthcoming enforcement powers. The competition law regulator will gain new powers through the Competition (Amendment) Bill 2022, which is currently before the D

The European Commission has launched a formal investigation into whether an agreement between Google and Meta (formerly Facebook) for online display advertising services may have breached EU competition rules. The investigation relates to the so-called "Jedi Blue" agreement struck in September 2018

Barry Doherty BL considers one aspect of the government's proposed changes to Irish competition law. The Competition (Amendment) Bill 2022, published on 31 January 2022, proposes detailed procedural changes to competition law.

The Competition and Consumer Protection Commission (CCPC) will gain more powers to enforce European and Irish competition law under a bill published by ministers. The Competition (Amendment) Bill 2022 will give effect to the implementation of Directive (EU) 2019/1 of the European Parliament and of t

Irish lawyer Úna Butler has been appointed as a member of the Competition and Consumer Protection Commission (CCPC). Ms Butler has served as director of legal services and general counsel at the CCPC since 2014, establishing the CCPC's legal services division and overseeing legal advice acros

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