ABA Panel on Regulating Gatekeepers and Ecosystems Summarized by Analysis Group Consultants
July 18, 2024
Analysis Group consultants published a summary of the “Reining in Gatekeepers and Ecosystems” panel, which took place at the American Bar Association (ABA) Antitrust Law Spring Meeting. Vice President Juliette Caminade was among the panelists, who also included Janet Jones-Duffey (Freshfields), David Lawrence (US Department of Justice (DOJ)), Noah Joshua Phillips (Cravath), and moderator Rishi Satia. The panel focused on different enforcement approaches to large technology firms.
In their article, the authors summarize a panel discussion that began with Dr. Caminade introducing the concepts of platforms, digital ecosystems, and gatekeepers. The panelists then turned to how enforcers, policymakers, and economists approach digital ecosystems and their relevance in antitrust laws. The panelists also focused on the EU’s Digital Markets Act (DMA), including compliance obligations for gatekeepers under the DMA and the complementary nature of the DMA and competition law. The panelists then explored ongoing efforts to rein in gatekeepers in the US and considered whether current US law – which has no direct parallel to the DMA – is sufficient to do so. The panel concluded with a discussion of the effect on gatekeepers of the introduction of entrenchment theory in the DOJ’s and Federal Trade Commission’s 2023 Merger Guidelines.
The article, “Antitrust Spring Meeting 2024 Panel Recap - Reining in Gatekeepers and Ecosystems,” was written by Manager Olga Kozlova Guglielmi, Manager Lolo Palacios, and Rami Abdallah Rashmawi (Vinson & Elkins), and was published by the ABA Antitrust Law Section.