ANDREY TSARIKOVSKIY: FAS IS A MIRROR OF THE ECONOMY

The Antimonopoly Service instantly reflects all processes in the economic system. The current vector of its development: digitalization

On 24 May 2018 FAS held a session “Transformation of Competition”. Antimonopoly regulation in the digital economy” at St Petersburg International Economic Forum.

Attendees included representatives of business, the authorities, global academic and expert community who discussed the new challenges facing the antimonopoly authorities in the world in the digitalization era.

Stats-Secretary, Deputy Head of FAS Andrey Tsarikovskiy emphasized the need to adopt the “fifth antimonopoly package” to modernize legal regulation in order to work efficiently in the digital economy.

“We should change the law, definitions, fundamental approaches to regulation and change ourselves”, emphasized Deputy Head of FAS. “In the modern market economy technologies, information, digital and information platforms, intellectual property play the decisive role, so new rules should appear in the antimonopoly law determining regulation in view of the modern challenges”.

Talking about the need to change approaches, Andrey Tsarikovskiy gave an example of Booking e-service, that occupies a very small market share under the understanding typical for traditional antimonopoly regulation, but is able to exercise considerable influence.

FAS is already applying new approaches to antimonopoly cases and mergers in terms of developing digital economy. “For such transactions, non-discriminatory access to big data and technologies is mandatory”, stressed Deputy Head of FAS.

Andrey Tsarikovskiy pointed out that sometimes economic changes emerge and disappear much faster than law-making for regulating such changes.  He concluded: “That is why the Antimonopoly Service sometimes makes creative decisions in the absence of the written norms”.