Self-Preferencing – Some Observations on the Push for Legislation at the National Level in Germany

While the debate on self-preferencing as a possible abuse of dominance under EU law is ongoing, various expert reports on antitrust enforcement in the digital economy identified self-preferencing as a competition issue to be tackled and provided several suggestions, including legislation. Germany has proposed draft national legislation, including a special provision prohibiting self-preferencing for companies with a paramount cross-market significance for competition. The proposal follows a hybr