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COMPETITION COUNCIL STARTS ITS SUPERVISORY FUNCTIONS FOR DIGITAL MARKETS

02 01 2025

Following the entry into force of the Law on the Supervision of Online Intermediation Services and Online Search Engines, as of 1 January 2025, the Competition Council will take on new supervisory functions for online platforms.

The Authority will now supervise the implementation in Lithuania of Regulation (EU) 2019/1150 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 20 June 2019 on promoting fairness and transparency for business users of online intermediation services.

For companies using online platforms, the Regulation guarantees transparent, clear and more understandable conditions, which gives small and medium-sized enterprises an incentive to make greater use of online platforms and boosts competition. Business users of such platforms can now turn to the Competition Council, not just the courts, to defend their rights.

Under the new legislation, the Competition Council performs the following functions in addition to those already provided for in the Law on Competition:

  • supervising compliance with the Regulation by providers of online intermediation services and internet search engines;
  • investigating complaints of infringement of the Regulation, conducting investigations on its own initiative and imposing appropriate sanctions;
  • cooperating with the supervisory authorities of other EU Member States, assisting them in cross-border investigations and exchanging information, and providing information to the European Commission on investigations of infringements of the Regulation;
  • advise businesses on the application of the Regulation.

After conducting an investigation of an infringement of the Regulation, the Competition Council may oblige the infringer to terminate the unlawful practices within a certain period of time, to comply with the obligation imposed by the legislation, or to carry out any other actions that would eliminate the consequences of the infringement, and may also impose a fine of EUR 300 to EUR 15 000, taking into account the nature of the infringement, its severity, scale, duration, and any mitigating or aggravating circumstances.

To make the necessary preparation for the implementation of new functions, on 10 December 2024, the Competition Council adopted a resolution on Activity Priorities and amended the institution's Rules of Procedure. These amendments define the procedures for investigating infringements of the Regulation and handling cases, set the requirements for reporting potential infringements and the procedure for dealing with these reports.

Based on the Activity Priorities, the Competition Council will investigate possible infringements of the Regulation if such actions may significantly contribute to the effective protection of the rights and interests of business users of online intermediation services. Before initiating an investigation, the Authority will also consider criteria of strategic importance and the rational use of resources.

Last updated: 02 01 2025