Aaron Chen and Sally Yang
The Fair Trade Commission (hereinafter, the “FTC”) adopted a resolution during the Commissioners’ Meeting on June 30, 2021 to set up a task force to conduct a comprehensive industry investigation of digital platforms, which will serve as the basis for setting up cases for subsequent investigation.
In view of the extraordinary influence of digital platform giants, major competition law enforcement agencies in the world have conducted related investigation in recent years. The FTC has also been paying increasing attention to this issue recently. In April 2021, the FTC conducted a seminar on “the industry ecology and controversies concerning digital platforms, contents websites, and online advertising industry.” The FTC also adopted a resolution during the Commissioners’ Meeting at the end of June to set up a task force to conduct an industry investigation of digital platforms. Meanwhile, it was also resolved to study the status of the investigation of Google and Facebook by competent authorities in various countries and relevant issues.
According to Chih-min Chen, Vice Chairman of the FTC, an industry investigation of the peripheral downstream and upstream industries involving digital platforms will be conducted to understand the current operating status and transaction patterns. In the process, the opinions of relevant ministries and agencies may also be solicited to serve as the basis for setting up cases for subsequent investigation.