Europes competition czar opened three investigations Thursday and sent a clear signal that more online shopping cases are coming.
The probes were triggered by a deep dive by regulators into the e-commerce sector launched in mid-2015. The European Commission received thousands of responses that showed patterns of four illegal practices.
Thursdays probes target video game publishers, tour operators and electronics makers for price manipulation and discrimination based on a shoppers location or nationality.
The full results of the e-commerce inquiry will be published in the first half of the year, and could lead to other antitrust cases focusing on price-comparison websites and restrictions from selling on certain online marketplaces.
This is the start and I expect there will be other cases, said Salomé Cisnal de Ugarte, an antitrust lawyer at Crowell & Moring.
The announcement comes as the Commission, European Parliament and Council all struggle to update and harmonize consumer protection rules for the internet age. The Commission introduced parallel rules in December 2015 one for the sale of physical goods, like jeans and jelly beans, and the other for software, mobile apps and the like. Progress has been mixed at best.
E-commerce should give consumers a wider choice of goods and services, as well as the opportunity to make purchases across borders, said Margrethe Vestager, the European commissioner for competition. The three investigations we have opened today focus on practices where we suspect companies are trying to deny these benefits for consumers.
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The last probe is against five video game publishers, including the makers of Street Fighter, Capcom of Japan, and of Doom, ZeniMax of the U.S. which allegedly used activation codes to stop buyers from downloading games from other countries websites.
That may be a factor in game prices in Western Europe, which are twice as high as in Eastern Europe.
Bandai Namco, a Japanese publisher, said it will fully cooperate with the European Commission and [is] confident about the outcome of this matter, said spokesperson Emilie Hurel.
As consumers increasingly shop online, the Commissions antitrust division is once again looking at business agreements between suppliers, manufacturers and distributors, as well as their contracts with retailers.
Boosting Europes digital economy is a flagship policy of the European Commission, which explains Vestagers intense scrutiny.
We apply competition rules without political interference but in light of political priorities, Johannes Laitenberger, the most senior official in her department, said last week.
Many online companies have read the writing on the wall.
The good news, Laitenberger said, is that [before we take action] many companies have reviewed their policies.