This Cullen International Global Trends benchmark compares regulatory and competition law approaches to potential market power issues related to online platforms. It covers 14 jurisdictions: Australia, Brazil, China, the European Union (EU), India, Japan, Korea, Mexico, the Philippines, Singapore, South Africa, Thailand, the UK and the US.

This benchmark outlines, for each of the covered jurisdictions, the evolution of the competition framework applicable to large online platforms; and provides details on each framework’s concrete implementation. It is divided into three main parts, covering:

• competition policy to address the market power of online platforms;
• ex ante rules to prevent online platforms from abusing their market power; and
• criteria to review killer acquisitions by large platforms.

Cullen’s findings in this area, included in the benchmark, point to a new role for competition authorities: in some of the jurisdictions studied, these authorities have new powers to regulate large online platforms.

The benchmark also shows that other jurisdictions (e.g. Australia and South Africa) have conducted extensive inquiries into online platform markets.

Meanwhile, a US court recently ruled that Google violated competition law. And, in the EU, online platforms remain under scrutiny, where authorities have begun assessing whether market gatekeepers comply with ex ante rules. But enforcement is still at an early stage.

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