The German Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Energy has presented its long awaited proposal for the draft legislation implementing the European Commission’s damages directive (the Directive) into German law (link). The draft legislation (the Proposal) is part of a wider reform of the German Act against Restraints of Competition (ARC), which addresses the following aspects:

1. Implementation of the Directive

2. Closing the so-called “sausage gap”

3. Dealing with certain challenges brought about by digital transformation.

Die Entscheidung der britischen Bevölkerung, die EU zu verlassen, wird – abgesehen von den politischen, sozialen, kulturellen und ökonomischen Dimensionen, über die in den letzten Monaten heftig diskutiert wurde – rechtliche Implikationen haben, die in ihrer Tragweite noch nicht absehbar sind. Dennoch müssen sich Unternehmen bereits jetzt auf sie einstellen.

What can be inferred for the Facebook investigation from the report on competition and data co-published by the Bundeskartellamt?

The investigation of the German Federal Cartel Office (FCO) against Facebook because of suspicions that Facebook may have abused a possibly dominant position has prompted a considerable echo, not only among antitrust lawyers. The FCO is currently investigating (i) whether Facebook may have a dominant position in the market for social networks and (ii) whether it may have abused such position with its specific terms of service on the use of user data.