Ofcom acknowledges that there are demanding legal criteria which must be met for a dominant company’s refusal to supply to be considered a competition law infringement. However, Ofcom notes, these criteria were largely developed some time ago. The question is whether these criteria are still appropriate in the context of digital markets.

Ofcom’s economics discussion paper discusses how the criteria may apply when data, held by a dominant company, is the key resource to which competitors seek access. Data has been identified as a key component of competitive advantage in digital markets. To access the discussion paper, click here.