Customize Consent Preferences

We use cookies to help you navigate efficiently and perform certain functions. You will find detailed information about all cookies under each consent category below.

The cookies that are categorized as "Necessary" are stored on your browser as they are essential for enabling the basic functionalities of the site. ... 

Always Active

Necessary cookies are required to enable the basic features of this site, such as providing secure log-in or adjusting your consent preferences. These cookies do not store any personally identifiable data.

No cookies to display.

Functional cookies help perform certain functionalities like sharing the content of the website on social media platforms, collecting feedback, and other third-party features.

No cookies to display.

Analytical cookies are used to understand how visitors interact with the website. These cookies help provide information on metrics such as the number of visitors, bounce rate, traffic source, etc.

No cookies to display.

Performance cookies are used to understand and analyze the key performance indexes of the website which helps in delivering a better user experience for the visitors.

No cookies to display.

Advertisement cookies are used to provide visitors with customized advertisements based on the pages you visited previously and to analyze the effectiveness of the ad campaigns.

No cookies to display.

Brazil Suggests Reform to Tighten Antitrust Regulation for Big Techs

Share

Brazil’s government on Thursday recommended a reform to its competition law that would allow antitrust authority CADE to designate certain digital platforms as systemically relevant, subjecting them to new obligations if necessary.

Why Its Important

Brazil’s Finance Ministry says that local legislation needs to be equipped with more tools to address a new reality where big tech firms, due to their size and market power, inhibit competition.

The government mentions practices such as exclusivity agreements, “killer acquisitions,” and self-preferencing, where a company’s own products, or services, appear first in internet searches.

Details

New requirements would include pre-merger notifications, transparency rules for end-users and businesses regarding commercially relevant information on service and product usage and offerings, and a mandate to disclose changes in terms of service or conditions.

Additional Backgrounds

The government said that the proposed legislative change is a middle ground between the US and the European Union (EU) models for regulating large tech platforms, drawing inspiration from practices adopted in Japan, the United Kingdom and Germany.

What’s Next

For the changes to take effect, the government must decide whether to submit the recommendations as a new bill to Congress or introduce a substitute text that could be incorporated into an existing legislative proposal already under consideration.

Key Quotes

“What we are proposing here is very reasonable and balanced,” Economic Reforms Secretary Marcos Pinto told a press conference, adding he predicts action on the matter to be taken by the end of this year.

“Our goal is not to hinder innovation, impose unnecessary costs or create bureaucracy where it’s not needed. What we want is to uphold a fundamental value in the economy, which is competition.”

© Thomson Reuters 2024

(This story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)