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ARTICLE · 29 OCTOBER 2021

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The Competition Commission & OIPMI – Full Steam Ahead

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On the 19th of May 2021, the South African Competition Commission ("Commission") formally initiated a market inquiry into the online intermediation platform market ("OIPMI") in terms of Section 43B(i)(a) of the Competition Act, 89 of 1998.

South AfricaAntitrust/Competition Law
Misha Van Niekerk
Misha Van Niekerk
Jac Marais
Jac Marais
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On the 19th of May 2021, the South African Competition Commission ("Commission") formally initiated a market inquiry into the online intermediation platform market ("OIPMI") in terms of Section 43B(i)(a) of the Competition Act, 89 of 1998 ("the Act"). The Commission released a Statement of Issues and extensively engaged with stakeholders both through Requests for Information as well as an online survey for business users of online intermediate platforms.

We previously set out a brief analysis of the Inquiry and what it may mean for your business. By way of a brief refresher, online intermediation platforms are defined as platforms that facilitate transactions between business users and consumers ("B2C" platforms) for the sale of goods, services and software and is not limited to instances where the transaction is concluded on the platform itself but extends to transactions concluded on the website of the business user or even offline. It includes

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