The Italian Competition Authority (AGCM) has opened two investigations (PS12793 and PS12805) against two major luxury groups for alleged conduct in violation of Consumer Code rules in the promotion and sale of clothing items and accessories. According to the AGCM, in both cases, the companies may have made, in promoting their products, untrue ethical and social responsibility statements, particularly regarding working conditions and compliance with legal requirements at their suppliers.
In recent years, competition law enforcement has intensified in key emerging markets with significant developments in other developing countries. It is vital for companies to remain compliant with applicable antitrust laws and continue their commercially independent behavior. In this webinar, we provided the latest key antitrust and competition developments for the past year in emerging markets in Europe, Middle East and Africa and strategized for what is on the horizon.
A federal judge in the Northern District of Texas has granted a preliminary injunction that partially enjoins the Federal Trade Commission’s (FTC) final rule on noncompete covenants. In sum, the judge found that “the Commission has exceeded its statutory authority in promulgating the noncompete rule” and noted that the “role of an administrative agency is to do as told by Congress, not to do what the agency thinks it should do”. Most notably, the court determined that the plaintiffs are likely to succeed on the merits of their challenge to the rule because the FTC lacks substantive rulemaking authority.
The General Authority for Competition (“Authority”) recently published its annual report for 2023. This latest annual report indicates an unprecedented level of activity by the Authority and confirms the magnitude of the enforcement actions taken by the Authority to ensure compliance of the Competition Law in Saudi Arabia.
On 28 May 2024, the Consumer Affairs Agency (CAA) announced that it had issued an order to pay an administrative fine (called a “surcharge” under Japanese law) in the amount of JPY 1,655,940,000 to the Chugoku Electric Power Company, Incorporated (“Chugoku Electric”) under Article 8, Paragraph 1 of the Act against Unjustifiable Premiums and Misleading Representations (“Act”). The CAA alleged in its order that Chugoku Electric had violated the Act by displaying advertising messages regarding household electricity rate plans on its website that appeared to be cheaper than they were in reality.
On 20 June 2024, Bill C-59, The Fall Economic Statement Implementation Act, 2023 (“Bill C-59”), which contains the final, and most significant in a series of, amendments to Canada’s Competition Act (the “Act”) came into effect. These amendments will make it easier for the Commissioner of Competition to take enforcement action, including by introducing structural presumptions in merger review, incentivize private parties to bring actions for all manner of civilly reviewable conduct, and broaden the scope of the Act by introducing a certificate regime for environmental competitor collaborations and a right to repair, among other things.
If the US Federal Trade Commission’s final rule on noncompetes comes into effect (despite ongoing legal challenges), it will impose a nationwide, nearly complete ban on worker noncompete agreements. This ties in with a broader trend which sees global antitrust regulators closely monitoring HR practices. Specifically, antitrust regulators are now looking beyond competition among companies offering similar products and services, to the competition between employers as they vie to attract and retain employees.
The latest edition of our Competition in Africa Report offers a detailed analysis and overview of recent developments in competition law enforcement and competition policy in 32 African jurisdictions. This report also provides an overview of regulatory and legislative dynamics and challenges in selected markets.
2023 was a transformative year for the Indonesian Competition Commission (Komisi Pengawas Persaingan Usaha, KPPU). Among others, the KPPU updated its merger control regulation and case handling regulation, introduced guidelines to help corporations identify issues in bid rigging, and updated its guidelines to define the relevant market and mechanism for payment of administrative fines by instalments. The transformation continues with the new KPPU leadership and issuance of regulation on case handling for unfair contract terms.
In the past few years, enforcement against restrictive labor market agreements has become a priority for many competition authorities worldwide. As a result, certain HR practices are in the spotlight of antitrust enforcers and may result in significant fines or even criminal liability. For more information, please read our briefing document, International Antitrust Onslaught against HR practices: Act now to stay ahead of the game.