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ARTICLE · 01 MAY 2024

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Commercial, Professional Perspective - Essential Facilities Today: Revisiting A Doctrine

Mayer Brown
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Recent years have seen explosive growth in online platforms, from e-commerce to professional networking to app stores. This has raised questions about the balance...

United KingdomAntitrust/Competition Law
Rachel J. Lamorte
Rachel J. Lamorte
Kathryn Lloyd
Kathryn Lloyd
Katherine F. Aragon
Katherine F. Aragon
Wladimir Soltmann (Phd)
Wladimir Soltmann (Phd)
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Essential Facilities Today: Revisiting a Doctrine

Recent years have seen explosive growth in online platforms, from e-commerce to professional networking to app stores. This has raised questions about the balance between access to platforms and the right of a competitor to choose its business partners. While its application to digital firms is still in its nascency, for in-house counsel, establishing familiarity with the Essential Facilities Doctrine (EFD) will be critical for risk assessment and compliance with competition laws.

The EFD is a competition law concept that may have gotten its start in the US but now plays a greater role in the EU. Where it applies, it prevents firms in dominant positions from withholding access to an integral facility or platform necessary to the business operations of others, where that denial of access diminishes competition in a downstream market. Generally, businesses in both jurisdictions have the freedom to contract

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This Mayer Brown article provides information and comments on legal issues and developments of interest. The foregoing is not a comprehensive treatment of the subject matter covered and is not intended to provide legal advice. Readers should seek specific legal advice before taking any action with respect to the matters discussed herein.

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