Denis Sparas (EU Commission, DMA Dir.): Digital Markets Act - First Wave of Cases, First Assessment

A very informative and sincere conversation with one of the main legal architects and senior enforcers of the Digital Markets Act system - Denis Sparas. We have covered a wide range of issues on the functioning of competition in digital markets - starting with normative and ending with operational.
The interview addressed inter alia the following matters:
- looking at the profiles of those recently hired DMA enforcers
- designation of gatekeepers: which gatekeeper is challenging what and on what ground
- future designations: what is in the pipeline
- the reaction of the Commission to the parade of designation challenges: were the rules designed properly?
- how well-staffed and well-resourced the Commission is
- different compliance strategies applied by different gatekeepers
- how litigious the new system is likely to be and which aspects of the DMA are most exposed to this
- what is hidden behind the fairness and contestability goals of the DMA
- is the 7th of March a big bang day?
- the importance of compliance reports
- the role of political leadership in channeling the enforcement of DMA in various (which?) directions
- empowering the users, empowering the choice
- lessons the DG CONNECT draws from electronic communications regulatory framework
- regulatory dialogue with gatekeepers: what, why, when and how
- DMA and Art 102 TFEU
- the substance & the format of the regulatory dialogue
- rights and opportunities of third parties to be active players in the system
- compliance or enforcement?
- the role of delegated acts
- the more targeted the action the more aggressive response is likely to take place
- visualising the daily routine of the DMA team
- broader societal interests in the DMA system: should they be taken into account, and if yes then how
- the rationale and the mechanics of anti-circumvention provisions
- relationship between DG Comp & DG Connect in daily enforcement of the DMA
- possible discrepancies in the broader vision about the mission of the DMA between both DGs
- relationship between DMA & DSA enforcement mechanisms
- is there a reason for designation criteria for VLOPs & VLOSEs being lower than for gatekeepers (meaning that newcomers will become VLOPs before they become gatekeepers)
- lessons for UK DMCC regime
- recommendations to those aiming to join the Commission in enforcing the DMA
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The Digital Markets Research Hub is an independent academic initiative aiming at scrutinising the functioning of competition/regulation in digital markets. We host one-to-one interviews with leading policymakers, regulators and practitioners. We also organise online mini-workshops inviting high-profile experts and academics in various fields of digital competition law & policy to discuss the most vibrant issues of the ongoing regulatory reforms in digital markets.
While having our clear normative stand on the matters discussed within the hub, we value different views and invite relevant stakeholders and thinkers representing the whole spectrum of reasonable positions on how to regulate competition in digital markets.
All our materials are available at RUclips channel, which you are very welcome to subscribe to.
Interview is organised & conducted by Prof. Oles Andriychuk, Newcastle Law School, UK

[@digital.markets]

All previous episodes (in chronological order):
Denis Sparas (EU Commission, DMA Dir.): Digital Markets Act - First Wave of Cases, First Assessment ruclips.net/video/qtPuwAXLJJc/видео.html
CJEU & Competition Law: Mechanics of the Process - Vivien Terrien, Mariya Serafimova, George Gryllos ruclips.net/video/bLEiBgzbfRM/видео.html
Henri Piffaut, Vice-President of the French Competition Authority: On the Latest in Digital Markets ruclips.net/video/Rg7NWXhFZS8/видео.html
Assimakis Komninos: EU Competition Law Key Developments in 2023, Digital Markets Act & Broader Trends ruclips.net/video/tJZ03FyZh48/видео.html
VideoGaming & Competition: Epic v Google; MS/Activision Eli Pales, Ayse Gizem Yasar, Fabian Ziermann ruclips.net/video/Oz40keDBiZA/видео.html
Lord Clement-Jones: Digital Markets, Competition and Consumers Bill in the House of Lords; AI Rules ruclips.net/video/v8Bwp0oCo7U/видео.html
Prof. Rod Sims, Chair of the Australian Competition & Consumer Commission (2011/22) ruclips.net/video/zpAtqjAKSvU/видео.html
Judicial Review v Full Merits Scrutiny in the DMCCb: Peter Freeman, Catherine Batchelor & Tom Fish ruclips.net/video/pgF_u3BcEJ0/видео.html
Cory Doctorow: Digital Markets Act; Interoperability; Entrenchment; Copyright; "What-About-Ism" ruclips.net/video/Xm23pO5_WKM/видео.html
Olivier Guersent, Director-General of DG COMP: New Vision - the DMA, Goals of Antitrust, Compliance ruclips.net/video/-ihcFgiFhok/видео.html
Digital Markets & Broader Issues of Internet Governance: Lilian Edwards, Ian Brown, Chris Marsden ruclips.net/video/bMBXbI1-imw/видео.html
Anu Bradford, European Markets & Digital Empires - Thinking Globally, Acting Prudently ruclips.net/video/ZxEt2pfb7eQ/видео.htmlfeature=shared
Unpacking UK Digital Markets, Competition & Consumers Bill: Robert Palmer, Ian Forrester, Sarah Long ruclips.net/video/8MNsQ0rKRk4/видео.html
Meta CJEU Judgment - When Competition Meets Privacy: Renato Nazzini, Thomas Höppner, Alessia D'Amico ruclips.net/video/SxQRM79glHc/видео.html
Richard Whish: Goals of Competition Law, Digital Markets Act, The Role of Technical Expertise & more ruclips.net/video/12Zja1dRjBc/видео.html
Philip Marsden: Comparing EU Digital Markets Act v UK Digital Markets, Competition & Consumers Bill ruclips.net/video/BNooF4xBnaQ/видео.html
Ordoliberalism & Competition Law: Past, Present & Future - Matthew Cole, Karen Horn, Anselm Küsters ruclips.net/video/V9Zhgnl9XoM/видео.html
Giuliano Amato: Antitrust and the Bounds of Power; European Competition Law - Past, Present & Future ruclips.net/video/KP7T6JhbDTs/видео.html
Art 102 TFEU & Exclusionary Conduct - The Reform: Anne Witt, Gönenç Gürkaynak, Massimiliano Kadar ruclips.net/video/Fx4LKwakjOA/видео.html
Eleanor Fox: Goals of Antitrust Consumer Welfare v Fairness & Competitive Process; Types of Populism ruclips.net/video/9ZHCmg0EXqg/видео.html
Brazilian Competition Law: Vinicius Klein, Juliana Oliveira Domingues, Caio Mario S. Pereira Neto ruclips.net/video/9Z3FJl5qlBE/видео.html
Amelia Fletcher: Furman Report 5 Years On; Key Features of Emerging Digital Competition Policy; DMCC ruclips.net/video/H74HMJHwlaw/видео.html
Google AdTech: EU Commission SO. Konstantina Bania (Brunel), Michael Veale (UCL), Mikaël Hervé (CRA) ruclips.net/video/bQmck6gNIBc/видео.html
Competition Policy in the Media: Lewis Crofts (MLex) Javier Espinoza (FT) Samuel Stolton (Bloomberg) ruclips.net/video/98AvaTIPvYY/видео.html
Unboxing UK Digital Markets, Competition & Consumers Bill Liza Lovdahl-Gormsen, Tom Smith, Dirk Auer ruclips.net/video/mmK-tlVH4sM/видео.html
Martijn Snoep: A New Vision of Antitrust Enforcement, Regulatory Dialogue, Compliance, Fines, DMA ruclips.net/video/WSIchX_Lm24/видео.html
Competition Law & Digital Regulation in India: Shilpi Bhattacharya, Raveena Sethia, Anshuman Sakle ruclips.net/video/zPMauTGwDOw/видео.html
Ioannis Lianos: Regulating Competition in Digital Markets; Polycentric & Inter-Ecosystem Competition ruclips.net/video/DMmhOVuXXxI/видео.html
Digital Markets Act & Data-Related Obligations: Natalia Moreno, Jan Krämer, Chris Riley ruclips.net/video/GSH-wU_e05k/видео.html
UK Digital Markets, Competition and Consumers bill: Matilda Curtis (BEIS) co-drafter of the bill ruclips.net/video/Q1AlEigkCVE/видео.html
Giorgio Monti, Or Brook, Magali Eben: The History of the Future: the DMA & National Competition Laws ruclips.net/video/e8N2k70eHqs/видео.html
Oliver Bethell, Google Head of Competition EMEA: Is the DMA a Challenge or an Opportunity? Interview ruclips.net/video/jDX8trEvCuc/видео.html
The 11th Amendment to the German Competition Act GWB Makis Komninos, Rupprecht Podszun, Sophie Gappa ruclips.net/video/i_Xt0tR7G68/видео.html
Video Game Industry and Digital Competition Law: Friso Bostoen, Amy Thomas, Alba Ribera Martínez ruclips.net/video/9ziBekKoGqs/видео.html
Conversation with Johnny Ryan: AdTech, GDPR, 3rd Party Cookies, Real-Time Bidding, Privacy Sandbox, Programmatic ads ruclips.net/video/3C4H0F7GXqc/видео.html
App Store Gatekeepers & the EU Digital Markets Act: Viktoria Robertson, Benedict Evans, Tim Cowen ruclips.net/video/G0LkYjqbBO4/видео.html
The DMA & Interoperability in Messaging Services: Agustin Reyna, Eliana Garcés, Simonetta Vezzoso ruclips.net/video/2YVC15W8iSc/видео.html
MEP Andreas Schwab: Conversation on the Digital Markets Act and EU Digital Competition Policy DMA ruclips.net/video/UAlkdvgvFlo/видео.html
Workshop: Digital Services Act & Digital Markets Act: Comparing the Incomparable? Martin Husovec, Ilaria Buri, Mark Leiser ruclips.net/video/UKsX8nX0HNk/видео.html
Alexandre de Streel on the Digital Markets Act | Compliance | EU Law | Regulation | Antitrust DMA ruclips.net/video/tGYiazVV1Eg/видео.html
Workshop: Niamh Dunne, Miguel Sousa Ferro, Justin Lindeboom: DB Station case: between Competition & Regulation ruclips.net/video/UCv_MJf4_jo/видео.html
Conversation with Tommaso Valletti: the Digital Markets Act, Economics of Antitrust, Experts as Agents ruclips.net/video/iKIzVCfhElQ/видео.html
Workshop 'DMA & Self-Preferencing': Vanessa Turner (BEUC), Denis Sparas (DMA TaskForce), Gonçalo Machado Borges ruclips.net/video/nUwjSvqly2I/видео.html
Workshop 'The Procedural Aspects of the DMA': Marco Botta, Fabiana Di Porto, Henry Mostyn ruclips.net/video/_GLbXEYMVts/видео.html
Conversation with Cristina Caffarra On the effectiveness and enforceability of the Digital Markets Act ruclips.net/video/j1vmOETUMxw/видео.html
Conversation with Prof. Rupprecht Podszun: Digital Markets Act, New German Competition Law, privacy & antitrust ruclips.net/video/U-wZwVXMPow/видео.html
Digital Markets Act: Quo Vadis? A Thematic workshop with the Ana Malheiro DMA Task Force, Dr Assimakis Komninos & Prof. Damien Geradin ruclips.net/video/MWNEApCPca4/видео.html
Conversation with a former Vice-President of DuckDuckGo Megan Gray on the state of competition in online search engine markets ruclips.net/video/uoPkxG5OLLs/видео.html