Antitrust Bites – Newsletter September 2021

Margin squeeze under the lens of the Regional Administrative Court of Lazio

With judgment No. 9803, published on 15 September 2021, the Italian Regional Administrative Court of Lazio annulled the sanctions imposed by the Italian Competition Authority (ICA) against a telephone operator for alleged margin squeeze conduct contrary to Article 102 TFEU.

The judgment of the Italian Regional Administrative Court of Lazio, after providing an interesting reconstruction of the constituent elements of the abuse of dominant position by way of margin squeeze and of the criteria required for its assessment, affirms the following principles:

• For the purposes of establishing a margin squeeze, the "equally efficient" competitor test must be carried out by the ICA taking into account the actual market dynamics, distinguishing for this purpose between competitors in the downstream market and end customers on the basis of an objective analysis of the market and not on the basis