Franchisors will need to be increasingly mindful of meeting their obligations under the Australian Franchising Code as a result of new and increased penalties which commence on 16 April 2022.
The amendments in the Turkish merger control regime (i) increase the turnover thresholds for notifiability, (ii) bring an exception to the turnover thresholds applicable to the acquisition of technology companies, (iii) change the turnover calculation methodology for certain types of undertakings, and (iv) update the template notification form. The amendments are set to enter into force on 4 May 2022.
The South African Competition Commission recently released its Economic Concentration Report, which highlights patterns of concentration and participation in the South African economy. The Report includes details on the Commission’s power to launch market inquiries into highly concentrated industries, as well as its increased authority to impose structural remedies on businesses in these sectors.
On 23 March 2022, the Investigating Authority of the Federal Economic Competition Commission published notice of the initiation of an investigation, for the alleged vertical restrictive practices in the market of production, distribution and commercialization of domestic insecticides in Mexico.
The European Commission launched a public consultation on 1 March 2022 inviting all interested parties to comment on two drafts revised Horizontal Block Exemption Regulations on Research & Development and Specialisation agreements and the draft revised Horizontal Guidelines.
INDECOPI has established a criterion of interpretation regarding the prohibition of disseminating misleading advertising material referring to promotional prices or discounts, in accordance with the provisions of Legislative Decree No. 1044 (“Law on Repression of Unfair Competition”).
On 28 February 2022, the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission opened a public consultation on options for legislative reform to address concerns relating to the perceived dominance of certain digital platform services in Australia. The consultation discussion paper outlines options for addressing potential perceived harms to competition, consumers, and business users across a range of digital platform services markets, such as the social media, search, app, online retail and ad tech markets.
A recent case before the South Africa Competition Tribunal looked at the excessive pricing of breast cancer treatment. This led to the question as to whether a violation of competition law should automatically be considered a violation of the Constitution.
On February 23 2022, the Colombian National Government issued Decree 253 (the “Decree”), modifying the regulation concerning antitrust leniency programs, known in Colombia as the Collaboration Benefit Program (“CBP”), applicable in administrative investigations conducted by the Superintendence of Industry and Commerce in regards to anticompetitive practices.
This modification is intended to strengthen the CBP as a mechanism for the Superintendence to detect and sanction any conduct that might affect competition, while discouraging the creation of and participation in cartels.
The National Consumer Secretariat of the Ministry of Justice of Brazil (Secretaria Nacional do Consumidor (SENACON)) has prepared a guide — the “Practical Guide for the Analysis of Price Increases of Products and Services” — focusing on guiding the authorities’ actions on the identification and characterization of abusive price increases for products and services and what measures should be taken in this case.