Self-preferencing under the Digital Market Act: Assessing Article 6(5) in light of EU law principles

Details

Supervisors

Gerard, Damien

Faculty

Faculté de droit et de criminologie

Degree label

Master [120] en droit, à finalité spécialisée: Droit européen

Abstract

enThe emergence of large digital platforms and their increasing role as intermediaries between businesses and end users have raised particular concerns about the ability of traditional competition law to address certain forms of conduct by the most powerful platforms. The Digital Market Act (DMA) was introduced to respond to those concern through a set of ex-ante obligations imposed on designated gatekeepers. Article 6(5) DMA prohibits gatekeepers from treating more favourably on their own platform, in ranking and related indexing and crawling, services and products offered by themselves, than similar services or products offered by third party sellers. By replacing a case-by-case assessment with an ex-ante prohibition, the Provision seeks to ensure fair and contestable digital markets, while limiting the need for lengthy individual enforcement proceedings. However, as with any regulatory innovation, the DMA has attracted considerable attention and generate significant legal debate. In particular, the strict ex-ante nature of Article 6(5) raises concerns as to whether its pursuit of fair and contestable digital markets can be reconciled with the general principles governing the exercise of EU regulatory powers. This thesis therefore examines the following research question: “To what extend is the ex-ante prohibition of self-preferencing under Article 6(5) compatible with the general principles of EU law?”