News Release: ICN 2020 Annual Conference

Quality, Spirit and Professionalism

International Competition Network discusses digital economy and announces full self-evaluation of ICN

The International Competition Network (ICN) held its 19th annual conference on September 14-17, 2020. The conference was the ICN’s first virtual conference. Originally planned as an in-person conference in Los Angeles in May, the conference transitioned to a virtual format as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic.

The ICN is the most important network of competition authorities worldwide. It comprises 140 competition agencies from 129 jurisdictions. Andreas Mundt, President of the Bundeskartellamt, has been the ICN Steering Group Chair since September 2013.

Andreas Mundt, ICN Chair and President of the Bundeskartellamt: “Over 2500 delegates from around the world participated in the conference. I want to thank our host agencies FTC and DOJ, the ICN working group co-chairs and everyone involved.”

Andreas Mundt opened the conference and spoke on a panel on remedies in unilateral conduct cases involving digital markets. Other sessions dealt with competition enforcement in the digital economy, big data and cartelization, competition advocacy in the digital age, merger investigations in the digital sector, and competition agencies’ strategies to address the challenges of the digital economy. Additional sessions dedicated to younger agencies, ICN Non-Governmental Advisors and economists took place on conference day four.

The ICN also announced plans for a full self-evaluation of the network, the “Third Decade Review”. Andreas Mundt: “ICN will turn 20 next year and we will look at tools, structure and topics to shape the ICN for its third decade. The ICN is well equipped to keep on improving and developing, maybe the most important skill these days. Quality, spirit and professionalism will enable the ICN to tackle the issues that matter for its members.”

A recording of the conference will be available on the ICN conference webpage after the close of the conference. Supplemental annual conference programming will be held throughout the fall.

ICN work products, the ICN working group work plans and additional information on future events are available on the ICN website.


2020 ICN Virtual Annual Conference

The first virtual ICN Annual Conference will take place from 14-17 September 2020. Our joint virtual hosts, the US DoJ and US FTC, together with the ICN Working Group Co-chairs have organized a compact conference week and a series of additional sessions that are linked to the main conference week but will take place later this year.


2020 ICN NGA Toolkit

The ICN has created a new guide for NGA engagement. This NGA toolkit has been produced to provide guidance to member agencies and to existing and prospective NGAs on NGA engagement. NGAs are competition experts from all backgrounds – lawyers and economists in private practice, inhouse
counsels, representatives of non-governmental international organizations, members of industry and consumer groups, academics and judges – who volunteer to contribute to the ICN’s work.

NGA Toolkit

2020 Annual Conference Postponed -- Update

Letter update from the Hosts and ICN Chair.

Dear ICN Members and Registered ICN Annual Conference attendees,

As we all follow developments regarding COVID-19. We would like to update you on the status of the ICN 2020 Annual Conference.

The conference is rescheduled as a virtual event in September to ensure that all of our attendees can enjoy the conference worry free.

 

For updates or questions, please contact the conference hosts.


ICN Steering Group Statement: Competition during and after the COVID-19 Pandemic

Today the ICN Steering Group issued a statement addressing key considerations related to competition law enforcement during and after the COVID-19 pandemic.

Link to Statement (also available in Portuguese)

The statement recognizes the unprecedented challenges that competition agencies are facing to maintain their enforcement missions during the pandemic. The statement reaffirms the relevance of competition to economies in crisis and urges member agencies to remain vigilant to anti-competitive conduct during the crisis. The statement recognizes the ability of agencies to evaluate and consider good faith efforts and limited collaborations among competitors to provide needed goods and services in making enforcement decisions, in line with applicable laws. It also encourages transparency with respect to operational and policy changes during the crisis and supports member agency advocacy efforts to promote competition as a guiding principle for economic recovery efforts in the aftermath of the pandemic.

The ICN Steering Group also noted its continued efforts to cooperate and share experiences across the network of competition enforcers during this challenging time.


2020 ICN Annual Conference

The U.S. competition agencies are pleased to be hosting the 2020 ICN Annual Conference!

ICN member authorities and NGAs nominated by their member authority are invited to participate in the conference.

For further information, please visit the 2020 ICN Annual Conference website or contact the conference hosts. The website includes information on accommodations, the conference venue, and events.

We look forward to welcoming the ICN community at the 2020 ICN Annual Conference!


2020 ICN Merger Workshop

The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission is pleased to be hosting the 2020 ICN Merger Workshop, which will be held on Thursday 27 February and Friday 28 February at the Sofitel Melbourne on Collins in Melbourne, Australia.

The Workshop will build around the foundation question ‘How can authorities achieve the right balance in their approach to merger review in a changing market environment?’ through a range of topical plenary and small group sessions designed to cater to a broad range of interests among ICN Merger Working Group members and non-governmental advisors (NGAs).

ICN Merger Working Group member authorities and NGAs nominated by their member authority are invited to participate in the Workshop.

Registration for the Workshop is now open. Please register at 2020 ICN Merger Workshop registration, preferably by 1 December 2019 but no later than 24 January 2020.

For further information, please visit the ICN Merger Workshop 2020 website.


2019 ICN Cartel Workshop

2019 ICN Cartel Workshop

The Administrative Council for Economic Defense of Brazil will host the 2019 ICN Cartel Workshop, in Foz do Iguaçu, Brazil, from 7 to 10 October 2019. The venue of the workshop will be the Wish Resort Golf Convention.

The theme of the workshop is “Cartels in the Age of Data-Driven Economy” and it will focus on the paradoxical impact of data on cartels since it can be used to facilitate collusion and also help agencies to detect cartels. Some of the topics that will be discussed at the event are: delineation of cartel activities in a changing business environment; challenges and information management for data-driven markets; antitrust liability for software-based infringements; intelligence and screening tools; effective leniency and evidence assessment in the digital era; due process and cooperation tools.

The 2019 ICN Cartel Workshop is an invitation-only event. The admission will be reserved for ICN Competition Authorities members and NGAs.

For more information, please access https://icncartelworkshop2019.cade.gov.br/.