Netherlands - Main Developments in Competition Law and Policy 2022
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I am a partner in our NL office, based in The Hague, where I was one of its founding lawyers in 2001.
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The Dutch Authority for Consumers & Markets (Autoriteit Consument & Markt, ‘ACM’) seems to have tuned down its antitrust enforcement activities in 2022; it did not impose a single fine for violation of the cartel prohibition or abuse of dominance but it upheld one fine in administrative appeal, i.e. the Samsung case.
It continued its discussions with Apple about compliance with the penalty order imposed in 2021, for the infringement of abuse of a dominant position vis-à-vis the dating app Tinder. At the same time, the ACM rejected several complaints, i.e., requests for investigating alleged violations of competition law, on the basis of prioritisation. Apart from the unavoidable merger decisions (mostly one-page clearances), the ACM appears to have used its resources in the area of competition mainly for informal guidance on sustainability initiatives, market studies and policy developments. The Dutch Courts have, however, been significantly more active in the area of competition law than the ACM and handed down 22 rulings, of which 12 related to follow-on damages claims and 10 concerned stand-alone cases.
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