Washington, DC, USA, 25-26 March 2024

On March 25-26, representatives from digital markets and technologist teams from competition and consumer protection authorities participated in the International Competition Network’s (ICN) Technologist Forum. More than 20 agencies convened with the goals of sharing experiences and promoting increasing digital and technology capacity in regulatory and enforcement agencies. It is the first such global meeting of technologists from competition and consumer protection agencies. This Forum was organized by the International Competition Network’s technologist group and hosted by the U.S. Federal Trade Commission. The plan to organize this Forum was part of the ICN mission to draw on the existing knowledge and best practices of government agencies who share a common mandate.

It is increasingly important to use existing legal and enforcement tools in digital and technology cases and develop and implement new or updated tools and approaches to strengthen investigations and agency missions. Based on the recognition that technology is a critical piece of enforcing the laws in our respective jurisdictions, the following findings were discussed and advanced at the Forum and will inform future work of the technologist group.

Recognizing the Need to Strengthen Capacity Due to the Increasing Digitization of the Economy:

Recognizing the Need to Strengthen Enforcement Efforts Through Increased Technical Capacity and Expertise:

Recognizing the Need to Strengthen International Agency Cooperation at the Level of Technical Experts:

Participating agencies:

Australian Competition and Consumer Commission

Federal Competition Authority, Austria

Competition Bureau, Canada

Conselho Administrativo de Defesa Econômica, Brazil

Directorate-General for Competition, European Commission

Autorité de la concurrence, France

Bundeskartellamt, Germany

Autorità Garante della Concorrenza e del Mercato, Italy

Japan Fair Trade Commission

Competition Authority of Kenya

Malaysia Competition Commission

Comisión Federal de Competencia Económica, Mexico

The Netherlands Authority for Consumers and Markets

Autoridade da Concorrência, Portugal

Competition and Consumer Commission of Singapore

Competition Commission of South Africa

Comisión Nacional de los Mercados y la Competencia, Spain

Swedish Competition Authority

Competition Commission, Switzerland

Turkish Competition Authority

UK Competition and Markets Authority

U.S. Department of Justice, Antitrust Division

U.S. Federal Trade Commission

















Strengthening Law Enforcement Agencies' Digital Capacity

The International Competition Network’s Technologist Forum brought together over 20 agencies to share experiences and promote the use of legal and enforcement tools in digital cases. The focus was on strengthening investigations and agency missions through increased technical capacity and international cooperation among agencies like the U.S. Federal Trade Commission, European Commission, and others. The forum aimed to develop new tools and approaches to address the challenges posed by the increasing digitization of the economy. The participating agencies included competition and consumer protection authorities from countries such as the USA, Canada, Japan, Brazil, and the UK.

Building Digital Capacity to Strengthen and Support Law Enforcement Agencies 
Building Digital Capacity to Strengthen and Support Law Enforcement Agencies

Strengthening Law Enforcement Agencies' Digital Capacity

Representatives from digital markets and technologist teams from competition and consumer protection authorities gathered at the International Competition Network’s Technologist Forum to discuss enhancing digital and technology capacity in regulatory and enforcement agencies.