Doctolib fined €4.67 million for abusing market dominance
The company’s 2018 MonDocteur acquisition was deemed an abuse of market power.
France’s competition authority has fined Doctolib €4.67 million for abusing its dominant position in online medical appointment booking and teleconsultation services. The regulator found that Doctolib used exclusivity clauses and tied selling to restrict competition and strengthen its market control.
Doctolib required healthcare professionals to subscribe to its appointment booking service to use its teleconsultation platform, effectively preventing them from using rival providers. Contracts also included clauses discouraging professionals from signing with competing services.
The French authority also sanctioned Doctolib for its 2018 acquisition of MonDocteur, describing it as a strategy to eliminate its main competitor. Internal documents revealed that the merger aimed to remove MonDocteur’s product from the market and reduce pricing pressure.
The decision marks the first application of the EU’s Towercast precedent to penalise a below-threshold merger as an abuse of dominance. Doctolib has been ordered to publish the ruling summary in Le Quotidien du Médecin and online.
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