The Russian Federal Antimonopoly Service has identified key principles of good faith conduct for participants in online platforms. It is assumed that a platform will mitigate antitrust risks by following these principles. What is this soft-touch regulation tool based on and how is it going to be used?

The Federal Antimonopoly Service of the Russian Federation has issued a clarification of the procedure for implementing compliance systems. The key issue that remains open is whether the regulator will take response measures only based on the fact that a company’s compliance documents contain provisions that contradict the legislation.

At a time when the Internet is developing rapidly, the issue of the legal regulation of social relationships on the Internet, including in the area of the distribution of advertising, is becoming more critical. A new Federal Law which in particular introduces the system for keeping a record of advertising on the Internet is aimed at implementing this state function.

There have been active discussions around the initiatives that are aimed at improving the state pricing policy. Multiple attempts are being made towards greater regulation of pricing in certain areas in the form of the introduction of additional price control tools. However, not all the measures that are being suggested find support in the business community.

The Russian Supreme Court’s Plenum has prepared a clarification on the most controversial issues of the application of anti-trust legislation by courts. On the one hand, the Court has ensured consistency with the approaches it developed previously. On the other, a striking feature of the clarifications was a signal of the need to follow the principle of reasonableness.

The Eurasian Economic Commission is becoming ever more significant as a platform for antimonopoly authorities in the member states of the Eurasian Economic Union to engage with each other in the area of investigations, information exchange and the reviewing of cases that show signs of a breach of general competition rules for cross-border markets.

The concept of “collective dominance” is reflected in the Federal Law “On the Protection of Competition”. Despite the concept not being directly used in the legislation, the criteria creating the conditions for it to emerge are set out in Part 3 of Article 5 of the Competition Law. Qualitative and quantitative criteria are distinguished.

In the tough conditions of the epidemic, governments are trying to mitigate the consequences of the crisis by developing horizontal schemes of state support for the business sector. Different countries and supranational unions are seeking a balance between helping companies and not only maintaining competition but also ensuring its subsequent development.

Online trade is capturing ever more markets and industries. In the absence of stringent restrictions digital platforms can create additional obstacles for businesses, impose conditions on contracting parties, etc. Barriers are being put up, for instance, with the assistance of price parity. Let's examine what sort of legal assessment is given to these practices in Russia and the EU.

The Russian Ministry of Labour and Social Protection has published for the identification and mitigation of corruption risks in the procurement of goods, work, or services to provide for state or municipal needs.