Competition in the digital environment and the need for an international antitrust cooperation: the digital markets act as a paradigmatic regulation?

Abstract

Context: Faced with the advancement of large technology companies in the international market, it is clear that such multinationals have specific operational aspects that call the attention of competition regulatory authorities, giving rise to discussions and production of regulations, such as the Digital Markets Act, to propose antitrust cooperation that goes beyond national borders.

Objective: Given the aforementioned context, the research aims to investigate, from a explanatory and descriptive approach, how the European Union, through the adoption of the DMA, has regulated the defense of free competition in the digital sector, especially regarding the conduct adopted by large companies in the sector, based on the assumption that the defense of competition, at a purely national level, is not fully sufficient to guarantee the well-being of consumers.

Method: The authors use documentary, bibliographic and qualitative methodology in the sources, selecting, above all, articles of foreign origin. As for the objectives, the research is explanatory and descriptive. The Digital Markets Act is used as a case study.

Conclusions: After analyzing the Digital Markets Act as a regulation aimed at competition in digital markets, we conclude that, due to the peculiarities and transnational effects produced by the action of the so-called “big techs”, a cooperative and transnational approach could bring, as already observed, more effective results for free trade defense in the sector, always taking into account the economic, legal and regulatory aspects peculiar to each State.