Article written by Haim Ravia, Dotan Hammer and Adi Shoval
The Israeli Antitrust Authority will not be following the FTC in a move for the divestiture of Facebook’s assets in Israel, says the head of the Authority, Ms. Michal Halperin, in a conference held by the University of Haifa. The reason, according to Ms. Halperin, is that the Authority simply does not have the resources to wage such a legal battle against the tech giant.
The Authority will, however, ensure that Israeli consumers receive the same rights as other consumers of the tech companies around the world and that tech companies comply with the antitrust laws in Israel. This includes having the companies file with the Authority reports on mergers and acquisitions which may affect competition.
The Authority also intends to publish a joint opinion with the Israeli Privacy Protection Authority regarding the required updates to privacy and data transfer rules, as well as a new code of conduct for platforms who cooperate with businesses such as Amazon and Airbnb, to bridge the gap between the current Israeli legislation and the advanced European legislation on these topics.
