Justice Department and Federal Trade Commission Meet with Fellow G7 Enforcement Partners on Competition in Digital Markets | OPA

Today, Assistant Attorney General Jonathan Kanter of the Department of Justice Antitrust Division and Federal Trade Commission (FTC) Chair Lina M. Khan participated in a Competition Enforcers Summit (Summit) as part of the 2021 G7 Digital and Technology Track. The Summit, hosted by the UK Competition and Markets Authority, explored how competition agencies are approaching the challenges posed by digital markets.

The Summit offered a unique opportunity for international competition agencies to discuss common areas of interest and opportunities for potential collaboration on issues such as large digital platforms, app stores, online marketplaces, digital advertising, mobile ecosystems, cloud computing and algorithms. The participating delegates were from the G7 competition authorities in Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, the UK and the United States, plus the European Commission and 2021 G7 invitees from Australia, India, South Africa and South Korea.

“There is a great deal of urgency among global competition law enforcement authorities to confront the daunting challenges presented by data-driven technologies,” said Assistant Attorney General Kanter. “This Summit is an important step forward in our effort to ensure that our antitrust law enforcement tools are fit for purpose in a modern digital economy and reflect market realities.”

“As competition enforcers around the world tackle unlawful conduct in digital markets, we face similar challenges and opportunities. Coming together through the G7 to collectively learn from these experiences and share expertise can boost our anti-monopoly work worldwide,” said FTC Chair Lina M. Khan. “Together, the FTC and its G7 partners seek to deepen our knowledge, refine our tools, and redouble our enforcement efforts to target unfair methods of competition in digital markets.”

The Summit also provided an opportunity to consider areas for increased cooperation and coordination among competition agencies and reflect on how best to use agency skills, knowledge and resources to deal with challenges in digital markets.