Corporate report

CA98 register of directions and commitments currently in force

Updated 8 November 2023

Directions

Case name	Summary	Case number	Direction given on	Direction
Genzyme Limited	Abuse of dominance by Genzyme Limited in relation to their supply of the drug Cerezyme (treatment of Gaucher disease). Infringement decision in respect of Chapter II CA98.	CA98/3/03	27 Mar 2003	Direction by the CAT on 29 September 2005 (PDF, 34KB)
Napp Pharmaceutical Holdings Ltd: alleged abuse of a dominant position	Abuse of dominant position: alleged anti-competitive pricing practices by Napp concerning the supply of morphine. Infringement decision in respect of Chapter II CA98. On 15 January 2002 the CAT substantially upheld the OFT’s decision on liability. Directions confirmed, however see paragraph 558 of the CAT Judgement (PDF, 645KB) with respect to paragraph 2(d) of the directions where the CAT advised the OFT to keep this aspect under review.	CA98/2D/2001	5 Apr 2001	Detail of direction (PDF, 27KB)
Phenytoin sodium capsules: suspected unfair pricing	The CMA investigated alleged excessive and unfair prices for phenytoin sodium capsules under Chapter II of CA98 and Article 102 TFEU.	CE/9742-13	15 June 2017	Directions in the CMA’s decision (PDF, 319MB) on 15.06.2017
Sports equipment sector: anti-competitive practices (Ping)	The CMA investigated a suspected breach of competition law in the sports equipment sector under Chapter I of CA98 and Article 101 of TFEU.	50230	21 Dec 2017	Directions in the CMA’s decision (PDF, 3.87MB) on 21.12.2017

Sector regulators

Case name	Sector regulator	Summary	Directions given on	Directions
Investigation into National Grid	Ofgem	Infringement decision in respect of Chapter II CA98 and Article 102 TFEU	21 Feb 2008	Details of direction (PDF, 104MB)
Investigation under section 25 of the Competition Act 1998 in respect of the rules for membership of the RACF (PDF, 529KB)	ORR	Anti-competitive agreement	April 2022	Adopt the Rules in the form agreed; notify ORR of any changes made to the Rules and/or the policies referred to within the Rules for a period of 5 years; make the Rules of membership publicly available on RACF’s website within 28 days of being first implemented by RACF and keep an up-to-date version of the Rules on RACF’s website; and retain information on membership applications and decisions for a period of 3 years following each, and provide such information to ORR on reasonable request; to include on RACF’s website an explanatory explaining what the Rules are intended to achieve.

Commitments

Case name	Authority	Case number	Type of conduct investigated	Commitment accepted on	Summary of commitments
Investigation into Meta’s (formerly Facebook) use of data	CMA	AT 51013	Abuse of dominance	3 November 2023	Allowing competitors advertising on Meta platforms to opt out of certain ad data being used by Meta in Facebook Marketplace. Limiting the way Meta uses certain ad data in product development in the UK.
Investigation into Amazon’s Marketplace	CMA	51184	Abuse of dominance	3 November 2023	Ensure Amazon does not use rival sellers’ Marketplace data to gain an unfair advantage over other sellers. Guarantee all product offers are treated equally when Amazon decides which will be featured in the ‘Buy Box’. Allow third-party businesses using Marketplace to negotiate their own rates directly with independent providers of Prime delivery services. Require Amazon to appoint an independent trustee who will monitor the company’s compliance with these commitments.
Investigation into conduct of Education Software Solutions Limited	CMA	51140	Abuse of dominance	10 January 2023	- Enables certain schools to apply to an independent adjudicator for a 12-month break clause
Showmen’s Guild: suspected anti-competitive practices	CMA	50243	Chapter 1 CA98 Anti-competitive agreement	26 October 2017	The CMA has accepted commitments from the Showmen’s Guild of Great Britain that address the CMA’s competition concerns. The Guild changed rules applied to Guild members. CMA’s decision to accept commitments (PDF,478KB)
Investigation into supply of lithium-based medication for the treatment of bipolar disease	CMA	50951	Abuse of dominance	18 Dec 2020	Continue to supply Priadel on terms agreed with the DHSC for 5 years.
Fludrocortisone acetate tablets: anti-competitive agreement	CMA	50455	anti-competitive agreement	3 October 2019	Ensuring that, in future, there will be at least 2 suppliers of fludrocortisone in the UK.
Investigation into the supply of electric vehicle chargepoints on or near motorways	CMA	51050	Abuse of dominance	8 March 2022	Not to enforce exclusive rights in contracts with Extra, MOTO or Roadchef, after November 2026. Not to enforce exclusive rights at any Extra, MOTO or Roadchef sites that are granted funding under the UK government’s Rapid Charging Fund (RCF).
Investigation into Google’s ‘Privacy Sandbox’ browser changes	CMA	50972	Abuse of dominance	11 Feb 2022	Involvement of the CMA and the ICO in the development and testing of the Privacy Sandbox proposals; Google will engage in a more transparent process than initially proposed; Google will not remove third-party cookies until the CMA is satisfied that its competition concerns have been addressed. If the CMA is not satisfied it may take further action; restriction on the sharing of data within its ecosystem; commitments to not self-preference its advertising services.
Investigation into a capacity sharing agreement between P&O Ferries and DFDS	CMA	51099	Chapter 1 CA98 Anti-competitive agreement	5 August 2022	Not agree with one another the number of sailings that each company operates. Put strict limits on the number of sailings that they may cancel. Amend the agreement to make clear that it does not fix the amount of freight customers that either company may carry.

Sector regulators

Case name	Sector regulator	Type of conduct investigated	Commitment accepted in	Summary of commitments
Provision of Deep Sea Container rail transport services between ports and key inland destinations in Great Britain	ORR	Anti-competitive agreement and/or abuse of dominance	Dec 2015	(1) No exclusivity contracts; (2) Contracts with duration up to 5 years and no rollover clause; (3) Restrictions on permitted rebates; (4) No reselling restrictions
Bristol Water plc	Ofwat	Abuse of dominance	Mar 2015	(1) Structural commitments; (2) Process commitments
Severn Trent (PDF, 217KB)	Ofwat	Abuse of dominance	Jan 2013	Divestiture of downstream subsidiary
Electricity North West (PDF, 547KB)	Ofgem	Abuse of dominance	May 2012	Undertaking the costs of boundary metering and refunding certain charges
Paypoint plc (PDF, 860KB)	Ofgem	Abuse of dominance	Nov 2021	Removal of exclusivity provisions concerning energy pre-payment services from current contracts and any future contracts entered into during the next five years with energy suppliers and retailers. Offering separate contracts to energy suppliers for the provision of OTC and non-OTC energy prepayment services. Donation of £12.5 million to Ofgem’s Energy Industry Voluntary Redress Scheme (currently administered on Ofgem’s behalf by the Energy Saving Trust).
EPEX Spot SE and EEX	Ofgem	Abuse of Dominance	June 2019	to take steps required of EPEX to enable other Nominated Electricity Market Operators, in particular Nord Pool, to participate in certain electricity trading auctions between Great Britain and Ireland; and also to carry out an internal review of its competition law training.