The Turkish Competition Authority announced on its website on 12 April 2023 that the Mobile Ecosystems Sector Inquiry has been initiated.
The announcement underlines the fundamental role of mobile smart devices, which are the first option to access the internet nowadays, as they ensure fast and easy access to a wide range of products, content and service portfolios as well as their direct effects on consumer welfare. Besides, the main competitive concerns and risks raised by the mobile ecosystems are listed as follows:
Links between each element constituting the mobile ecosystem such as operating systems, applications, application stores etc.,
Simultaneous activities of players holding market power by big data advantage and network effects in many downstream markets of mobile ecosystems,
Risks created by the players operating in different downstream markets such as the exclusive effects for the rival products/services, limitations on consumer preferences and negative effects on innovation competition.
In this regard, it has been stated by the Turkish Competition Authority that the Mobile Ecosystems Sector Inquiry aims to understand (possible) competitive and anti-competitive effects created by the mobile ecosystems as well as determination of efficient policies based on the outcomes.
You can access the announcement from this link (in Turkish).