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On 16 July 2020, the European Commission (“Commission”) announced that it has launched an antitrust sector inquiry into “consumer-related products and services that are connected to a network and can be controlled at a distance, for example via a voice assistant or mobile device.

Commission Executive Vice President and Competition Commissioner Vestager said that “[t]he sector inquiry will cover products such as wearable devices (e.g. smart watches or fitness trackers) and connected consumer devices used in the smart home context, such as fridges, washing machines, smart TVs, smart speakers and lighting systems. The sector inquiry will also collect information about the services available via smart devices, such as music and video streaming services and about the voice assistants used to access them.” Connected cars are outside of the scope of the inquiry.Commissioner Vestager noted that the Internet is increasingly embedded in consumer devices (around 180 million devices in 2023 with an estimated value of around Euro 22 billion), and that: “[t]he consumer Internet of Things is expected to grow significantly in the coming years and become commonplace in the daily lives of European consumers […] There are indications that certain company practices may structurally distort competition. In particular, there are indications relating to restrictions of data access and interoperability, as well as certain forms of self-preferencing and practices linked to the use of proprietary standards. Internet of Things ecosystems are often characterised by strong network effects and economies of scale, which might lead to the fast emergence of dominant digital ecosystems and gatekeepers and might present tipping risks. Therefore, through this competition sector inquiry, the Commission will gather market information to better understand the nature, prevalence and effects of these potential competition issues, and to assess them in light of EU antitrust rules.”Commissioner Vestager also indicated that the key focus areas of the sector inquiry  are expected to be:
  • Data: “…access to large amounts of user data appears to be the key for success in this sector, so we have to make sure that market players are not using their control over such data to distort competition, or otherwise close off these markets for competitors. This sector inquiry will help us better understand the nature and likely effects of the possible competition problems in this sector”;
  • Risk of gatekeepers and “tipping” markets: the Commission wants to establish if/to what extent IOT markets face such risks. Commissioner Vestager mentioned that the risk markets reaching a “tipping point” must be avoided.
  • Interoperability: the Commission wants to ensure that smart devices are truly interoperable and able to communicate with each other. Commissioner Vestager emphasised that “[i]nteroperability is of the essence if we want to make this market accessible
  • Devices including voice assistants: Devices, including voice assistants are interfaces between consumers and products and can have an impact on consumers’ purchasing behaviour. The Commission is concerned about possible self-preferencing/foreclosure.

The Commission will send requests for information (RFIs) to around 400 players from around the world, covering all levels of the supply chain (e.g. patent holders, software developers, smart device manufactures, and related service providers).

The RFIs should be circulated in the next days according to Commissioner Vestager (or weeks according to the Commission’s press release). Commission Vestager also indicated that the Commission is currently aiming at issuing a preliminary report in spring 2021.

The sector inquiry runs parallel to the other steps taken by the Commission in the context of its digital strategy, such as the consultation on the New Competition Instrument, the Digital Services Act (see https://ec.europa.eu/digital-single-market/en/digital-services-act-package), and other regulatory initiatives related to artificial intelligence, data and digital platforms (see https://ec.europa.eu/digital-single-market/en/content/european-digital-strategy).

Finally, Commissioner Vestager also indicated that this sector inquiry “sends an important message to powerful operators in these markets that we are watching them and that they need to do business in line with competition rules“.

What are sector inquiries

The Commission describes sector inquiries – https://ec.europa.eu/competition/antitrust/sector_inquiries.html – as:

investigations that the European Commission carries out into sectors of the economy and into types of agreements across various sectors, when it believes that a market is not working as well as it should, and also believes that breaches of the competition rules might be a contributory factor.”

They typically take several years from initial inquiry to final report, so the Commission’s goal of issuing a preliminary report by the Spring of 2021 indicates that it will seek to expedite the inquiry; follow up investigations into specific companies, however, can start at any time and some will usually start before the sector inquiry as a whole is finalised.

What can companies expect

Imminently, around 400 companies at all levels of the value chain can expect to receive requests for information and documents, asking for some combination of opinion-type input to help identify issues, information on contracts and disputes, and other internal documents.

Although the Commission will already have an initial idea of the issues it wants to investigate, the replies to these requests for information and other contacts between the Commission and companies will help to shape the sector inquiry and the future cases that the Commission intends to take.

For example, with the e-commerce sector inquiry, Commission officials have said that they were surprised by the number of contracts they found that contained clauses that the Commission felt were well-established as unlawful, such as market partitioning clauses.

How Covington can help

With antitrust attorneys in Brussels, the US and China, Covington provides global expertise in handling major inquiries, as well as in-depth experience of relevant technology issues, including through our Internet of Things Task Force.

Our roster of ex regulators can provide detailed insight into how such inquiries work, and how companies can identify and pursue their business objectives in relation to the inquiries.

Contact

Johan Ysewyn                                 +32 2 549 52 54                     jysewyn@cov.com
Kevin Coates                                   +32 2 549 52 32                      kcoates@cov.com
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Photo of Kevin Coates Kevin Coates

Kevin Coates advises clients on critical antitrust matters drawing on his extensive public sector experience in the Directorate-General for Competition of the European Commission (“DG COMP”), most recently as Head of a Cartel Unit.

His practice has a particular focus on advising companies…

Kevin Coates advises clients on critical antitrust matters drawing on his extensive public sector experience in the Directorate-General for Competition of the European Commission (“DG COMP”), most recently as Head of a Cartel Unit.

His practice has a particular focus on advising companies in the electronics, technology, software and e-commerce sectors.

Mr. Coates advises on all aspects of EU, UK and international competition law, including merger control, compliance, cartels and leniency, and abuse of dominance.

Mr. Coates served as Head of a Cartel Unit at the Directorate-General for Competition (“DG Comp”) at the European Commission between 2012 and 2016. Prior to this, he held several positions within DG Comp, over nearly 20 years in total, including advising the Director General of DG Comp on policy and communications issues, and overseeing competition cases in the telecoms and media sectors. While working for the Director General he was one of the team that produced the Guidance on Enforcement Priorities under Article 102.

He was also a visiting research fellow at NYU School of Law in 2009-2010.

Prior to joining DG Comp, he served as in-house Counsel at AOL Europe where he was responsible for antitrust and regulatory issues for AOL subsidiary companies in the UK, Germany, France and the Netherlands.

Mr. Coates is the author of “Competition Law and Regulation of Technology Markets” published by Oxford University Press in 2011.

Mr. Coates is co-chair of Covington’s Internet of Things (IoT) group, and leads the firm’s Brexit Task Force.

Photo of Johan Ysewyn Johan Ysewyn

Johan Ysewyn is widely respected as a highly skilled European competition lawyer, advising on complex competition issues, including on merger control, anti-cartel enforcement, monopolisation cases and other conduct investigations. He acts as Co-Head of the firm’s Global Competition group and as Managing Partner…

Johan Ysewyn is widely respected as a highly skilled European competition lawyer, advising on complex competition issues, including on merger control, anti-cartel enforcement, monopolisation cases and other conduct investigations. He acts as Co-Head of the firm’s Global Competition group and as Managing Partner of the Brussels office.

Clients turn to Johan when they need cutting-edge competition and regulatory advice. He has been advising some of the world’s leading companies for over 30 years on their most complex competition issues. Johan is “an exceptional lawyer who is solution-oriented, has a remarkable ability to rapidly understand our business and has excellent reactivity.” (Chambers Global) Johan “attracts considerable praise for his reliable practice, as well as his great energy and insight into cartel proceedings.” (Who’s Who Legal)

Johan represents clients from around the world in dealings with competition authorities as well as in court litigation. He has in-depth knowledge of regulatory procedures and best practices as well as longstanding relationships with key regulators, in particular at the European Commission. He has also an active advisory practice covering a range of areas of interest to corporates, including the interplay between ESG goals and competition law, the impact of competition law enforcement on digital markets and broad strategic compliance issues.

Johan’s experience spans many industry sectors, with recent experience in telecoms and information technology, media, healthcare, consumer goods, retail, energy and transport. He has advised on several of the most major merger investigations in recent years. In addition, he has represented clients in many conduct investigations.

Johan’s practice also has a strong focus on global and European cartel investigations. He has acted for the immunity applicants in the bitumen and marine hose cartels, and acted for defendants in alleged cartels in financial services, consumer goods, pharmaceuticals, chemicals, consumer electronics and price benchmarking in the oil sector. He has acted for the European Payments Council in the first European Commission investigation into standardisation agreements in the e-payments sector. Johan has written and lectured extensively on international cartel and leniency-related issues. He co-authors the loose-leaf European Cartel Digest and lectures on cartel law and economics at the Brussels School of Competition.

Johan is also one of the leading experts on EU State aid issues, working both for beneficiaries and governments. He has advised a number of leading banks and governments, as well as represented major European airlines. From the cases that can be publicly disclosed, he has been involved in the Fortis, KBC, Dexia, Arco, Citadele, airBaltic and Riga Airport State aid cases.