GEORGIAN COMPETITION LAW IN THE DIGITAL AGE – GEORGIAN PRACTICE AND EXISTING CHALLENGES

Abstract

The article identifies, systematizes the decisions taken by the Georgian Competition and Consumer Agency regarding digital markets/competition and reviews the practices established by the Agency based on the said decisions. The introduction of the article highlights the significant challenge of modern competition law, which implies that competition law does not exist independently of era and context, and it is important that competition law and its enforcement mechanisms function effectively in the conditions of the modern digital economy. The article then defines the digital economy and describes two of its key features, (big) data and digital platforms. A number of theoretical problems are then mentioned which may hinder the effective enforcement of competition law in relation to similar economic agents/markets.

The main part of the article will concern the review of the decisions made by the Competition Agency in relation to online markets and digital platforms. Since there are currently no special legislative or by-law norms necessary for the effective enforcement of competition law in the digital age, the Competition Agency is guided by the general legislative framework regulating competition law to resolve similar issues. The analysis of the decisions revealed that the practice of the Agency develops in the direction of only two: (I) unfair competition (II) agreements restricting competition, and currently there is no, for example, a decision of the Competition Agency regarding the abuse of a dominant position by digital platforms.