“Digital-Mania” in Competition Law has finally arrived in Chile, one might think at first sight. On the one hand, several academic activities discussing “challenges” to Competition Law have taken place. On the other hand, the national competition authorities, the Fiscalía Nacional Económica (“FNE,” Chilean Competition Authority) and the Tribunal de Defensa de la Libre Competencia (“TDLC,” Chilean Competition Court), have decided a number of cases regarding different digital markets – specifically, those for delivery apps, e-commerce marketplaces, maritime information apps, and streaming platforms.
In this context, some calls for broader intervention on local digital markets have arisen. These calls have included proposals for a digital market inquiry to be led by the FNE, and the exercise of “hybrid institutional solutions” when a reduction of competition standard is met, including both enforcement and regulation tools with the involvement of both the FNE and the TDLC. These lines of thought can be contrasted with recent Chilean case law, which, with relatively consistency, holds that local digital markets are still incipient, at early stages of development.
Given this situation, this article tries to explain the concept of “incipient markets” as applied to the Chilean digital context from the perspective of Chilean case law, and its wider implications.
Puedes leer el artículo de opinión realizado por nuestro asociado Manuel Abarca en el siguiente link:
