Competition Buzz: Uber and Cabify in Mexico: New market, New service… same anticompetitive conduct?

Aitor Ortiz, CIDAC

A lot has been said over the last few months about Mexico’s new Transport Network Enterprises (TNE), that is, Uber and Cabify. In terms of competition policy, there is still no unanimous opinion on how these services should be regulated. On the one hand, several European countries and Brazil’s major cities have banned the service. On the other, the United States has left regulation up to locals, avoiding as much as possible any interference with the development of these platforms. The European Commission is even conducting a study into the matter, hoping to find a solution that will not limit or impede the development of technology which brings with it these new industries, combining virtual businesses with traditional companies with physical assets (the so-called “brick and mortar” kind.)

In this original piece, Dr. Aitor Ortiz comments on the main debates surrounding this issue, as well as possible lessons to authorities and academics around the world about the ‘hidden’ risks presented by these novel virtual business formats, which thrive in the intangible and judicially uncertain world of new technologies.

Read the Full Article

Want more news? Subscribe to CPI’s free daily newsletter for more headlines and updates on antitrust developments around the world.