Over the past 20 years, the information technology (IT) industry has
been a frequent target of antitrust enforcement. IT-related cases have often
raised interesting and sometimes controversial questions about how
antitrust laws should apply. They also tend to involve unilateral conduct
or abuse of dominance claims and high-profile, multinational companies
such as Microsoft, Intel, Qualcomm, Rambus and Philips. As the IT
industry evolves, antitrust enforcement has also evolved to focus on the
leading providers of Internet or online services such as Apple and Google.
Another significant development in antitrust enforcement over the
same period is the introduction of the Anti-Monopoly Law (AML) in
China. The AML came into effect in 2008 amidst much speculation about
which multinational company or companies would be the first target of
the law. To date, AML enforcement has focused primarily on the review
of mergers and acquisitions by China’s Ministry of Commerce
(MOFCOM),1 which leaves unanswered many questions about how AML
enforcement in China will deal with the IT industry generally and the
Internet specifically.
This paper identifies the key issues that are likely to arise when AML
enforcement turns to the Internet and assesses whether China will face the
Michael Yeh, Director of Regulatory Affairs for Microsoft responsible for the Asia Pacific
region, Beijing.
John Yong Ren, Managing Partner of T&D Associates, Beijing.
