The Competition Commission of Pakistan (CCP), under its ongoing Lecture Series on Competition Law, hosted a lecture titled “Competition Concerns in the Digital Economy.”
Dr Amber Darr, Lecturer in Competition Law at the University of Manchester, UK, and External Expert at CCP’s Centre of Excellence in Competition Law (CECL), delivered the lecture.
According to a press release issued by the CCP on Wednesday, she examined how the rapid expansion of digital platforms, big data, algorithms, and network effects is transforming markets and posing new challenges for competition authorities worldwide.
Dr Darr explained key characteristics of digital markets, including increasing returns to scale, market tipping, data-driven market power, and risks of algorithmic collusion. She also discussed the complexities of defining relevant markets and assessing dominance in zero-price and innovation-driven environments.
Referring to leading European Union cases involving Google, Apple, and Amazon, Dr Darr highlighted issues such as abuse of dominance, tying and bundling practices, unfair trading conditions, and the evolving approach to vertical agreements in digital markets. The lecture also placed Pakistan’s digital economy in a regional and global context, stressing the need for effective competition enforcement to ensure fair and innovative markets.
CCP officers from Management Executives to Director Generals attended the session. Participants actively engaged in discussion on regulatory and enforcement challenges, reflecting CCP’s continued focus on capacity building in competition law enforcement.
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