When Talking Things Through Is The Problem, Not The Solution: The European Commission's Updated Guidance On Information Exchange

What You Need to Know

• Key takeaway #1 The exchange of information between competitors can raise antitrust concerns. For such exchanges to be legitimate, they must pursue an objective that has positive or neutral effects on competition and be limited to what is strictly necessary and proportionate in order to achieve that objective.
• Key takeaway #2 In addition to bilateral or multilateral exchanges, the unilateral disclosure of information can be problematic, also for the receiving company. Companies receiving unilaterally disclosed commercially sensitive information should explicitly distance themselves from the disclosure.
• Key takeaway #3 Businesses seeking to exchange commercially sensitive information with competitors must ensure that they have adequate compliance measures in place, such as the use of clean teams or third parties to handle the information on their behalf.