The "White Paper on Competition Policy in the Digital Economy" by the Taiwan Fair Trade Commission has been awarded the 2024 Antitrust Writing Awards

The “White Paper on Competition Policy in the Digital Economy,” released by the Taiwan Fair Trade Commission was honored with the 2024 Antitrust Writing Awards by the renowned international competition law publisher Concurrences.

The TFTC notes the considerable achievement from being granted this award. Initially, the selection process involved narrowing down 50 outstanding submissions to the top 25. Subsequently, submissions were further categorized into four major geographical regions: Asia/Oceania, Americas, Europe, and Africa/Middle East, with only one winner chosen from each region by the Jury for the Awards. The White Paper successfully distinguished itself from other excellent submissions from Japan, Australia, New Zealand, Hong Kong, and Singapore, emerging as the sole recipient from each major region, alongside the U.S. Department of Justice and Federal Trade Commission, the European Union, and the South African Competition Commission.

The award ceremony took place on the evening of April 9th at the renowned National Press Club in Washington, D.C. Vice Chairman Dr. Andy Chen represented the TFTC to accept the award and expressed gratitude to the organizers and the Jury for recognizing the efforts of the TFTC. He also emphasized the key points of the White Paper.

Dr. Chen highlighted in his address that, in facing the complicated competition issues brought forth by the digital economy, while enforcement experiences from other countries are undeniably crucial, the necessity of “local nexus” cannot be overlooked. This underscores the necessity for a greater emphasis on local empirical analysis. Moreover, issues pertaining to digital competition are not confined solely to “competition,” therefore no specific agency can resolve those issues single-handedly. International cooperation and domestic collaboration are still indispensable.

The TFTC noted that the White Paper is one of the very few studies that comprehensively addresses the competition issues arising from the digital economy. It provides the overall enforcement stance and policy direction by the TFTC. During the drafting process, valuable insights were provided by experts from industry, government, academia, and research institutions. It is through these collaborative efforts, the TFTC was able to achieve this international recognition and win this prestigious award. This is also a solid indication of international affirmation of the TFTC’s enforcement and policy positions.

The FTC further elaborated that the White Paper addresses 14 competition issues arising from the digital economy. These include digital market definition, platform operators’ self-preferencing, tying, predatory pricing/price discrimination, differential pricing, most-favored-nation clauses, resale price maintenance, restrictions on online sales channels, data privacy and market competition, killer acquisitions, algorithms, and online false advertising. It provides enforcement stances and directions for these issues. Interested readers can refer to the website (https://www.ftc.gov.tw/internet/main/doc/docList.aspx?uid=1961&mid=1961) or inquire about purchasing at the National Bookstore Songjiang Branch and the Wunan Cultural Square Taichung Main Store.

Concurrences was established in 2004 with offices in Paris, London, and New York, making it a highly influential competition policy and law publishing institution worldwide. The Jury for the Awards consisted of over 70 prominent competition law scholars and practitioners from around the globe. Notable figures such as F. Jenny, Chairman of the OECD Competition Committee, and W. Kovacic, former Chairman of the U.S. Federal Trade Commission, were members of the Jury.