The judgment handed down today, 14 November 2025, by the Regional Court of Berlin (Landgericht Berlin II, Case No. 16 O 195/19 Kart(2)) marks a notable milestone in the long-running David-and-Goliath battle between the German price-comparison platform Idealo and Google. Although the awarded €465 million in damages and interest falls far short of Idealo’s initial […]
Operationalising Fairness – Making a Principle Work in the Digital Fairness Act
As algorithmic decision-making and platform power increasingly shape citizens’ daily lives, the EU’s Digital Fairness Act represents a critical opportunity to prioritize fairness alongside innovation. In this guest post for SCiDA, Behrang examines a fundamental challenge threatening the Act’s effectiveness: the absence of a clear, operational definition of “fairness” itself. by Behrang Kianzad, Senior Researcher, […]
SCiDA Conference 2026: Shaping Competition in the Digital Age – Towards Best Practices
In response to the rise of digital platforms and ecosystems, an increasing number of jurisdictions have been rethinking their competition law regimes, resulting in amended policies or novel legislation for digital markets. The DMA in the European Union, the DMCCA in the United Kingdom, and Section 19a GWB in Germany stand as pioneering examples. The […]
The Economics of the DMA: Insights from the European Commission’s Expert Workshop
Economists – assemble! This might have been the unofficial theme of the workshop on “The Economics of the DMA” hosted by the European Commission on 22-23 September 2025 in Brussels. In preparation of its DMA evaluation, the European Commission Joint Research Center (JRC) had assembled economic expertise from around the world to discuss the Regulation’s […]
Latest SCiDA Activities
SCiDA Submission to the Consultation on the 2025 DMA Review The SCiDA Project has submitted its response to the European Commission’s consultation on the 2025 review of the Digital Markets Act (DMA). Our detailed recommendations, available at SSRN, draw on two years of comparative research analyzing digital markets regulation across the EU, UK, and Germany. […]
The Second Round of DMA Compliance Workshops – Compliance Progress or Slowdown?
During the last days, we witnessed the second round of the most public aspect of DMA enforcement: the DMA Compliance Workshops. Now in their second year, these events are shaping up to be an annual tradition in which the Commission convenes gatekeepers, their business users, competitors, and other stakeholders. The contrast between last year’s buzz […]
Bye-Bye Behavioral Ads: How the DMA is breaking Meta’s Business Model
Pay or consent: Meta got slapped with a € 200 non-compliance fine—but the real story is what comes next. The Commission’s Article 5(2) decision could rewrite the future of behavioral advertising. Curious how this will reshape Meta’s business model? Dive into our latest blog for the full story. By Team SCiDA Meta’s “pay or consent” […]
Apple’s Anti-Steering Aches: Key Takeaways from the first DMA Non-Compliance Decision
The European Commission has published its first-ever DMA non-compliance decision—and Apple is the unlucky (or lucky, depending on how you look at it) first subject. In a 68-page takedown, the Commission unpacks Apple’s creative approach to steering restrictions: multiple business terms, multiple hoops for developers to jump through, and a web of conditions that, in […]
Better late than never: DMA Non-Compliance Day
The long-awaited first non-compliance decisions under the DMA are finally out. Apple and Meta have been fined EUR 500 and 200 million respectively. While everyone can now be relieved that DMA enforcement has not been consigned to oblivion (or turned into a counter-tariff bargaining chip), a few question marks remain. To start with the obvious: […]
This is no big deal: Europe must stand strong on Big Tech
Europe must stand strong on Big Tech and enforce the DMA, say Monika Schnitzer and Rupprecht Podszun. They also argue in favour of an independent European enforcement agency.