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Hefty Fine Imposed on Facebook for "Misleading And Aggressive Practices"

Competition Law | Articles

Hefty Fine Imposed on Facebook for "Misleading And Aggressive Practices"

In recent years, social media and technology companies have faced investigations initiated by competition and data protection authorities worldwide for violating data protection rules. It seems that competition and data protection enforcers are less hesitant to impose administrative fines, when it is believed that data protection or competition rules are violated by companies that utilize data as a part of their entrepreneurial activities

Integrated System in the Bus Transportation Services Market – A Type of Agency Agreement or Not?

Competition Law | Articles

Integrated System in the Bus Transportation Services Market – A Type of Agency Agreement or Not?

On October 15, 2018, the Plenary Session of the Administrative Law Chamber of the Council of State ("PSALC") reversed the decision of the 13th Chamber of the Council of State, which annulled the Turkish Competition Authority's ("TCA") decision by which the TCA imposed a fine on Metro Turizm Seyahat Organizasyon ve Ticaret A.Ş. ("Metro Turizm") due to the violation of Article 4 of Law No. 4054 on the Protection of Competition ("Competition Law").

Samsung and Apple Were Fined for "Planned Obsolescence"

Competition Law | Articles

Samsung and Apple Were Fined for "Planned Obsolescence"

Italian Competition Authority, Autorità Garante Della Concorrenza E Del Mercato ("AGCM"), has fined Apple and Samsung on 24 October 2018 due to "planned obsolescence" of their smartphones as they have been slowing down their old phones over the time by implementing inappropriate software and thus, promoting sales of new products.

Turkish Data Protection Authority's Recent Resolution Concerning SMS, E-mail and Call Advertising

Data Protection | Articles

Turkish Data Protection Authority's Recent Resolution Concerning SMS, E-mail and Call Advertising

Shortly after its establishment with the Turkish Data Protection Law No. 6698 ("Law"), the Turkish Data Protection Authority ("DPA") has started to observe the data protection ecosystem of Turkey. In this regard, the DPA has been focusing on the areas, where data protection concerns are perceived more concentratedly. One of the instruments that the DPA has been putting to use is adopting resolutions, where the violation is prevalent. It is worth to note that "resolutions" are different than "decisions" in nature within the meaning of the Law.

Turkish Competition Authority to Reinvent Effects Doctrine in Pharmaceutical Industry: Roche Decision

Competition Law | Articles

Turkish Competition Authority to Reinvent Effects Doctrine in Pharmaceutical Industry: Roche Decision

On 27 September 2018, Turkish Competition Authority (“TCA”) published its decision concerning the allegations that Roche Müstahzarları A.Ş. (“Roche”) had violated articles 4 and 6 of the Law on the Protection of Competition (“Competition Act”).

Google Fined – This Time by the Turkish Competition Watchdog

Competition Law | Articles

Google Fined – This Time by the Turkish Competition Watchdog

The tech giant Google has been under the Turkish Competition Authority’s (“TCA”) scrutiny due to its practices in the market for licensable mobile operating systems and under the judicial review since July 2015.

European Commission Opens In-Depth Investigation into Possible Collusion Between German Car Manufacturers on Clean Emission Technology

Competition Law | Articles

European Commission Opens In-Depth Investigation into Possible Collusion Between German Car Manufacturers on Clean Emission Technology

On 18 September 2018, the European Commission ("EC") opened a full-fledged investigation regarding the possible collusion between the German car manufacturers, BMW, Daimler, Volkswagen, Audi, and Porsche known as the "Circle of Five". It will be examined whether these manufacturers entered into illegal agreements concerning the technological development of passenger cars, which may have denied consumers the opportunity to buy less polluting cars, despite the technology being available to the manufacturers.

Turkish Competition Authority Brings Halt to Credit Card Information Storage Services Provided by the Subsidiary of Well-Established Banks

Competition Law | Articles

Turkish Competition Authority Brings Halt to Credit Card Information Storage Services Provided by the Subsidiary of Well-Established Banks

Bankalararası Kart Merkezi A.Ş. ("BKM") is a corporation and association of undertakings founded by 13 banks. Non-shareholding members such as banks and payment and electronic money institutions are also among the members of BKM. BKM is permitted to operate as a payment system operator under Law No. 6493 and activities of BKM other than system operations are subject to permission of Central Bank of Republic of Turkey ("TCMB") pursuant to the Regulation regarding Activities of Payment and Security Conformity Systems. BKM's activities includes authentication, swap and settlement, online payment solutions, digital wallet services and credit card information storage.

Amazon's Dual Role of Merchant and Platform Under Antitrust Scrutiny in the EU

Competition Law | Articles

Amazon's Dual Role of Merchant and Platform Under Antitrust Scrutiny in the EU

Amazon embraced a business model which places innovation, accessibility and customer satisfaction at its core and its current position indicates that it probably is the best company in the world in terms of implementing this model. According to most, the extraordinary growth and great commercial success of Amazon is mainly due to its focus on value creation rather than revenue, and its ability to identify and satisfy customer expectations even before such expectations are explicitly manifested.

Google is Under the Spotlight Once Again

Competition Law | Articles

Google is Under the Spotlight Once Again

In August, President Donald Trump criticised technology firms including Google, Facebook and Twitter claiming that they could "represent a very antitrust situation". He tweeted that Google's news search function favoured liberal over conservative outlets, without adducing any evidence. The allegations about Google went on through the Twitter account of President Trump, where it was argued that Google censors search results and controls what people could see, read and learn. It was further argued Google presented "rigged search results". Google stated that the searching tools are designed to show the most similar results based on the users' search and the results are not biased or political

Export Revenues Must Now be Brought in Turkey: Introduced by the Communiqué on the Protection of the Value of Turkish Lira

International Trade | Articles

Export Revenues Must Now be Brought in Turkey: Introduced by the Communiqué on the Protection of the Value of Turkish Lira

Turkish Lira (TRY) has been alarmingly losing its value for the last couple of months. Indeed, it lost well over 70% of its value against, for instance, US Dollar. While the predictions about the consequences of the "currency crisis" that erupted in Turkey continue to be made, Turkish businesses called for ensuring the stability of the exchange rates. In this regard, the Turkish government has been working on the potential solutions to overcome the currency fluctuation mainly resulting from the tension between the US and Turkey.

New or Old-Fashioned Approach for the Market Definition: Turkish Competition Authority’s TveK/D&R Decision

Competition Law | Articles

New or Old-Fashioned Approach for the Market Definition: Turkish Competition Authority’s TveK/D&R Decision

On August 27, 2018, the Turkish Competition Authority (“TCA”) announced that it had unanimously cleared the acquisition of one of the largest retailers of various products such as books, periodicals, music, electronics, accessories, video games and toys (“D&R”) by another retailer & wholesaler of the relevant products (“TveK”)

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