New competition rules for digital platforms in Brazil

Brazil‘s government has proposed a reform to its competition law that would empower the antitrust authority, CADE, to designate certain digital platforms as systemically relevant, imposing new obligations on them as needed. The Finance Ministry emphasises the importance of equipping local legislation with tools to tackle the challenges posed by large tech firms that inhibit competition due to their size and market influence. This reform targets practices like exclusivity agreements, ‘killer acquisitions,’ and self-preferencing in search results.

The proposed changes would require digital platforms to submit pre-merger notifications and follow transparency rules concerning service and product usage. They would also need to disclose any modifications to their terms of service. The government seeks to find a balance between the regulatory frameworks of the US and the EU while taking inspiration from practices in Japan, the UK, and Germany.

The next steps for the Brazilian government include deciding whether to present these recommendations as a new bill to Congress or to integrate them into existing legislative proposals. Economic Reforms Secretary Marcos Pinto highlighted that the goal of the proposal is to promote competition while avoiding hindrances to innovation or unnecessary bureaucracy, underscoring the need to maintain a competitive economic environment.