FAS: APPROACHES TO MARKET REGULATION SHOULD BE IMPROVED TAKING INTO ACCOUNT DIGITALIZATION

It was stated by Sergey Puzyrevsky, Stats-Secretary - Deputy Head of FAS Russia, during the international conference on ensuring compliance with competition legislation and consumer protection in digital markets in Tashkent

Deputy Head of FAS Russia noted that due to the growth of e-commerce, effective mechanisms are needed to protect citizens and entrepreneurs from possible abuses by "digital" monopolies. Currently, 96.5 % of the total volume of the online trading market is provided by Russian online stores. In addition, there is a huge increase in the number of active Internet users – in Russia, this is 90 % of the country's population.

FAS Russia has considered a number of cases related to the abuse of a dominant position in digital markets. These are cases concerning Booking.com, Apple, Google LLC, as a result of which multibillion-dollar penalties were imposed on the companies.

To prevent such violations, the authority has developed the "fifth antimonopoly package", in which one of the bills was approved by the Federation Council on July 5, 2023. The draft laws included in it are aimed at curbing the abuse of a dominant position by the owners of digital platforms. It is planned that the changes in antimonopoly regulation will come into force on September 1, 2023.

At the end of his speech, Sergey Puzyrevsky noted that antimonopoly legislation should be improved taking into account current trends. For this purpose, FAS Russia cooperates with antimonopoly authorities of other states, civil institutions, including at the sites of scientific conferences.