G7 Announces Common Understanding on Competition and the Digital Economy

G7 Finance Ministers and Central Bank Governors released a Common Understanding on Competition and the Digital Economy at the end of their meeting in Chantilly, France. The Understanding acknowledges that competitive markets are key to well-functioning economies and can help unlock the benefit of digital transformation for innovation and growth while safeguarding consumer welfare. Nevertheless, antitrust laws should adapt to the challenges posed by the digital economy, and competition authorities need to have up-to-date tools and skills. The document also calls for greater international cooperation and convergence in the application of competition laws. Among the challenges identified are: market concentration in the digital economy, the barriers of entry created by the ownership of data by large platforms, and the difficulties in market definition, market power assessment, and competitive effects analysis.