Presentation of “Antitrust Regulation in theDigital Age”, 2nd Edition
On June 20, 2019, at the HSE Faculty of Law, the HSE-Skolkovo Institute of Law and Development, together with the Federal Antimonopoly Service of Russia, presented the second edition of the book “Antitrust Regulation in the Digital Age”, and its authors spoke about the challenges of the new era and the relevance of the chosen topic. The decision about the second volume was made for two reasons: the economic success of the first book and new ideas for changes to regulation.
The co-authors of the book took part in the presentation, namely Director of the HSE-Skolkovo Institute for Law and Development Alexey Ivanov; State Secretary - Deputy Head of the FAS Russia Andrei Tsarikovsky; Head of the Anti-Cartel Office, Andrei Tenishev; Deputy Head of the Anti-Cartel Office, Mukhamed Khamukov; and Institute Research Fellows Elena Voynikanis and Ekaterina Semenova.
Ivanov noted that the transformation and adaptation of antitrust regulation is one of the key tasks of the departments for protecting competition today. “In order to better regulate the digital economy, the antitrust authority must itself go through a digital transformation”, said Alexey Ivanov. "That is, departments should include in their standard activities the practice of big data analysis, the use of predictive analytics, and other advanced management tools. Digital platforms and digital ecosystems that define the image of a modern economy are actively using these methods in their enterprises. In order to effectively regulate them, it is necessary for regulators to apply the latest methods of analysis. Already now we see that the markets are increasingly controlled by digital platforms, which means that antitrust regulation, if we are going to maintain it for the new conditions, should resemble "Gosplan 2.0" more in functionality, rather than a usual control and oversight body. Stabilising market distortions in the digital economy is a serious analytical and regulatory challenge”.
Andrei Tsarikovsky said that the success of the first edition has been due to the fact that the authors "hit the mark and wrote something really necessary".
"The world is changing, and changing fast. New ideas arise. The present moment, in my opinion, can be called the sunset of the era of continental law, which no longer keeps pace with the changes in the economy”, he said. "The cycle of lawmaking is longer than the life of many economic phenomena, and we seem to only regulate the 'light of a dying star'".
According to the deputy head of the Federal Antimonopoly Service, the legislation needs common universal formulations and decision-making based on the general concept of justice and the presence of precedents. A significant part of the new book is devoted to this.
He also spoke about the changes in the work of the antitrust service that have occurred under the influence of digital changes: A "digital" Fifth Antitrust Package has been written, a bill on responsibility for cartels, including those implemented using the latest technology. We have completely changed the ideology of compliance: the software, when coming to compliance, clearly knows what we are looking for and where to look for evidence of guilt”.
“Antitrust Regulation in the Digital Age” II will be available in electronic and paper format in bookstores and on specialised electronic resources.