China: Publication of draft amendment to anti-monopoly law including rules for digital sphere

On 2 January 2020, the State Administration for Market Regulation publishes its draft amendment to the Anti-monopoly Law of the People's Republic of China, including rules to determine market power for the digital realm, namely include network effects, the lock-in effect and the ability to capture and process relevant data in the revised Article 21. Article 21 was introduced to sanction anti-competitive behaviour in the internet sector. Furthermore, the draft would give the State Administration for Market Regulation (SAMR) more enforcement possibilities. Namely civil liabilities for merger control violations are increased from RMB 500'000 to 10% of the company's turnover in the previous year. For concluded anticompetitive agreements, that have however not yet been implemented, the fine was raised to RMB 50 million.