With the development of E-commerce, the Turkish Competition Authority (keeping a step with the European Commission) has demonstrated a special interest in evaluating vertical aspects associated with online platforms/distribution channels. One of the most recent examples is the TCA’s investigation into the Most Favoured Nation/Customer clause (“MFN”) of a popular Turkish online platform Bookingdotcom Destek Hizmetleri Limited…
The suspension of Booking.com’s services in Turkey has been seen as an attack on individuals’ online freedom and digital entrepreneurship as a whole. Such claims seem to be inaccurate because undertakings, irrespective of their legal form, location and mode of operation (digital/ ‘traditional’), are equally subject to, among others, (i) competition law; (ii) the respective…
On 29 March 2017 Istanbul’s 5th Commercial court of First Instance ruled on temporary suspension of Booking.com’s activities in Turkey on the unfair competition grounds. The Turkish court ruled in favor of Turkish Travel Agencies Association (“TURSAB”), and instructed the Information and Communication Technologies Authority (“BTK”) to freeze Booking.com’s reservation processes/search facilities for hotels in Turkey.…
Introduction Personal liability rules for the competition law violations and accordingly, the tracking systems to ensure that the damages caused are covered/compensated by the violating person from his/her own resources, have been under the increasing scrutiny of the competition authorities all around the world and even despite the discrepancies, some of the EU member states…
Introduction The Turkish Competition Authority (“TCA“) has recently been quite active in both opening new investigations and finalizing the pending ones. Within this scope, the TCA concluded ongoing investigations against companies active in ready mixed concrete, music and compulsory traffic insurance industries. In the meantime, the TCA has also launched two new investigations; one being…
Electricity Companies Are Under Investigation In Turkey: Alleged Abuse Of Dominance The Turkish Competition Authority (“TCA”) is examining whether business practices of Toroslar Elektrik Dağıtım A.Ş. and Enerjisa Toroslar Elektrik Perakende Satış A.Ş. forecloses operations of independent providers and prevent the exercise of consumers’ right to choose their own providers. The TCA assesses the commercial…
On 28 September2017 the TCA launched an investigation into SONY Eurasia Pazarlama A.Ş. (Sony), suspected of violating Article 4 (anticompetitive agreements) of the Turkish Competition Law by way of resale price maintenance practices. The TCA concluded its preliminary inquiry conducted in response to the claim that Sony violated Article 4 of the Turkish Competition Law…
On 2 February 2017 the European Commission on its own initiative launched three separate antitrust investigations into the e-commerce market, focusing on whether the suspected companies active in the consumer electronics, video games and hotel accommodation sectors violate the EU competition rules by preventing consumers (via certain online sales practices) from enjoying cross-border offers due…
While fines imposed on companies for breach of competition law have become a quite common notion in the business world, the decision of the Competition and Markets Authority (“CMA”) in December 2016 in relation to the disqualification of the company’s managing director comes as a surprise (in fact for the first time since the enactment…
Licensing and Distribution Practices: Nike, Sanrio and Universal Studios Are Being Investigated In The EU On 14 June 2017 the European Commission opened three investigations into licensing and distribution practices of Nike, Sanrio and Universal Studios and their ability to restrict cross-border and online sales of merchandising products within the EU single market. Merchandising products…