Shows
MONOPOLY ATTACK13. Taylor Swift vs TicketmasterWhen tickets for Taylor Swift’s latest tour went on sale in November, Ticketmaster was overwhelmed by forces inside and outside of its control, which resulted in a ticketing fiasco. Looking for reasons, many seized upon Ticketmaster’s market power in ticketing and the broader live music industry, especially after its 2010 merger with Live Nation. As FTC Chair Lina Khan quipped, the fiasco “converted more Gen Zers into anti-monopolists overnight than anything I could have done”. In this episode, we dive into the origins and contemporary manifestations of the Ticketmaster-Live Nation monopoly. (Recorded 9 December 2022)
Let us know what you...2023-01-0223 minMONOPOLY ATTACK12. ASCOLA 2022At the end of June 2022, the yearly conference of the Academic Society for Competition Law (ASCOLA) took place in Porto. In between panels of what is perhaps the most important antitrust conference of the year, Kay and Friso caught up with some fellow academics. They talked with Magali Eben about collegiality in the competition law community, with Francesco Ducci about his award-winning paper on randomization as an antitrust remedy, with Rupprecht Podszun about what makes the EU such an exciting place for competition law scholarship, and with Philip Marsden about the importance of antitrust policy for people today.
2022-07-1219 min
MONOPOLY ATTACK11. What About Microsoft? (Part 2)The European Commission’s cases against Microsoft in the 2000s set the framework for the assessment of abusive conduct related to product integration and interoperability, and Microsoft became the first “big tech” company with direct experience of the power of antitrust enforcers. In this episode, we explore how Microsoft adapted its conduct in light of the imposed remedies and their continuous supervision, tracing how the company’s relationship with government enforcers evolved over time. No longer merely a defendant, Microsoft has more recently leveraged its experience to put pressure on its digital rivals and influence ongoing antitrust enforcement in the tech...2022-06-1537 minMONOPOLY ATTACK10. What About Microsoft? (Part 1)Depending on the day of the week, Microsoft is the most valuable company in the world, or at least in the top 5. It’s one of GAFAM, the five “big tech” companies presumptively labeled as “digital gatekeepers” to which new ex-ante antitrust rules will apply under the EU’s forthcoming Digital Markets Act. Founded in 1975, it’s the oldest of the Big Five (one year older than Apple), but has had a much longer history of being a target of antitrust enforcement.
Back between Microsoft out-manoeuvring IBM to become the dominant platform for personal computers, and before the dot com bu...2022-06-0133 minMONOPOLY ATTACK9. Gaming Industry ConsolidationAt the start of 2022, the gaming market was shaken up by a series of acquisitions, including Microsoft/Activison Blizard, Sony/Bungee and – last but not least – New York Times/Wordle. In this episode, we examine the current state of the gaming market, the innovation on the horizon, and how competition authorities may assess recent acquisitions. (Recorded 7 February 2022)
Note: On 9 February 2022, Microsoft announced the ‘principled approach to app stores’ it is adopting ahead of regulation, which ties in with our discussion of Microsoft’s role in current regulatory debates.
Let us know what you think, by engaging w...2022-02-1428 minMONOPOLY ATTACK8. The CMA’s FB/GIPHY DecisionIn May 2020, Facebook (now Meta) acquired the gif library GIPHY. The UK’s competition authority (the CMA) started investigating the merger and finally, in November 2021, ordered Facebook to sell GIPHY again. In this episode, we examine the CMA’s merger control assessment and the more interventionist approach to digital markets it exemplifies (Recorded 27 January 2022)
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Learn more about the hosts:
Kay Jebelli, Counsel to the Computer & Communications Industry Association - Twitter (@KayJebelli), LinkedIn, SSRN
Friso Bostoen, Acad...2022-02-0430 minMONOPOLY ATTACK7. The Google Android Appeal HearingIn this episode, we walk through the General Court hearing in the Google Android case, which took place in Luxembourg from 27 September until 1 October. Google appealed to the General Court the European Commission’s 2018 4.3B EUR fine for abuse of market power. We discuss the major points of contention, including market definition and power, pre-installation agreements and anti-fragmentation agreements, highlighting the arguments made by Google and the Commission, and the points of law that the judgment could help clarify. (Recorded 5 October 2021)
Let us know what you think, by engaging with MONOPOLY ATTACK on Twitter (@MonopolyAttack) and LinkedIn
2021-10-1242 minMONOPOLY ATTACK6. The Vertical Block Exemption (VBER) ReviewIn this episode, we look at the Commission's draft Vertical Block Exemption Regulation (VBER) and associated Guidelines, which are set to replace the existing 11 year old legislation in advance of its expiration. The Commission has been consulting on this revision since 2018, culminating in a draft published in July 2021. We go through some noteworthy changes, which reflect Commissioner Vestager’s desire to accord ‘a small privilege [to] those who also want to do brick-and-mortar’.
Let us know what you think, by engaging with MONOPOLY ATTACK on Twitter (@MonopolyAttack) and LinkedIn
Learn more about the hosts...2021-09-3020 minMONOPOLY ATTACK5. Google’s Commitments and Designer AntitrustIn this episode, we dive into Google’s latest antitrust commitments in Europe. In June, we saw commitment decisions on Google’s ad-tech stack and its planned ‘Privacy Sandbox’ (under French and UK competition authorities' oversight) as well as voluntary changes to the Android choice screen (overseen by the European Commission since 2018). We examine what this less adversarial approach from Google signifies, and how authorities are engaging in ‘designer antitrust’ by putting forward ever-more detailed fixes.
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Meet the hosts:
Kay Jebelli, Counsel to the Computer & Communications Industry Ass...2021-07-1237 minMONOPOLY ATTACK4. Europe's Proposed Digital Markets Act (Part 3)In this episode, we wrap up our 3-part introduction on the EU’s proposed Digital Markets Act (DMA), with a critical look at defenses and differences with traditional antitrust, the potential to harmonise national rules for platform conduct, and possible consequences of the DMA as proposed.
Find MONOPOLY ATTACK on Twitter (@MonopolyAttack) and LinkedIn
Meet the hosts:
Kay Jebelli, Counsel to the Computer & Communications Industry Association - Twitter (@KayJebelli), LinkedIn, SSRN
Friso Bostoen, Academic at KU Leuven & Research Foundation Flanders - Twitter (@BostoenFriso), LinkedIn, SSRN
2021-06-2230 minMONOPOLY ATTACK3. Europe's Proposed Digital Markets Act (Part 2)In this second episode on the EU’s proposed Digital Markets Act (DMA), we take a closer look at the obligations and prohibitions to be imposed on designated ‘gatekeepers’. Particular attention is given to how the DMA’s provisions complement or overlap with (ongoing) competition law enforcement.
Find MONOPOLY ATTACK on Twitter (@MonopolyAttack) and LinkedIn
Meet the hosts:
Kay Jebelli, Counsel to the Computer & Communications Industry Association - Twitter (@KayJebelli), LinkedIn, SSRN
Friso Bostoen, Academic at KU Leuven & Research Foundation Flanders - Twitter (@BostoenFriso), LinkedIn, SSRN
2021-06-1815 minMONOPOLY ATTACK2. Europe's Proposed Digital Markets Act (Part 1)In the first of a three-part series, we dive into the EU’s proposed Digital Markets Act (DMA). This episode explores the DMA's background, why the EU finds this new regulation necessary, which platforms could be designated as ‘gatekeepers’ subject to the DMA, and how that designation would happen.
Find MONOPOLY ATTACK on Twitter (@MonopolyAttack) and LinkedIn
Meet the hosts:
Kay Jebelli, Counsel to the Computer & Communications Industry Association - Twitter (@KayJebelli), LinkedIn, SSRN
Friso Bostoen, Academic at KU Leuven & Research Foundation Flanders - Twitter (@BostoenFriso), LinkedIn, SSRN
2021-06-1723 minMONOPOLY ATTACK1. Antitrust Enforcement in TechIn this first episode, we offer a bird’s-eye view of the antitrust enforcement landscape in the tech sector, both at the EU and the Member State level. We cover previously adopted decisions and judgments as well as the plethora of ongoing investigations. We focus on the biggest cases against Microsoft, Apple, Google, Amazon and Facebook.
Find MONOPOLY ATTACK on Twitter (@MonopolyAttack) and LinkedIn
Meet the hosts:
Kay Jebelli, Counsel to the Computer & Communications Industry Association - Twitter (@KayJebelli), LinkedIn, SSRN
Friso Bostoen, Academic at KU Leuven & Research Foundation Flanders - Twitter (@BostoenFriso), LinkedIn, SSR2021-06-1750 minMONOPOLY ATTACK0. The PilotWelcome to MONOPOLY ATTACK — a podcast on tech antitrust policy from Brussels. In this pilot episode, we introduce ourselves and our background, share some initial views on the tech sector, competition law and first principles, and explain our plans for the MONOPOLY ATTACK podcast.
Find MONOPOLY ATTACK on Twitter (@MonopolyAttack) and LinkedIn
Meet the hosts:
Kay Jebelli, Counsel to the Computer & Communications Industry Association - Twitter (@KayJebelli), LinkedIn, SSRN
Friso Bostoen, Academic at KU Leuven & Research Foundation Flanders - Twitter (@BostoenFriso), LinkedIn, SSRN
2021-06-1514 min