Results of the G7 Competition Authorities and Policymakers’ Summit

In the Ministerial Declaration of the G7 Industry, Technology and Digital Ministerial Meeting in March 2024, it was agreed to promote further discussions on competition in AI and digital markets among G7 competition authorities and policymakers, and to support the G7 competition summit in Italy.


In response to this Declaration, etc., the Italian Competition Authority, Autoritá Garante della Concorrenza e del Mercato, hosted the G7 Competition and Policymakers’ Summit in Rome, Italy on October 3–4, 2024, attended by heads of the G7 competition authorities and policymakers, etc. Mr. Kazuyuki FURUYA, Chair of the Japan Fair Trade Commission, participated in the Summit.


The following topics were discussed at the Summit:


1. Competition enforcement and horizon scanning activities (October 3)
1-1 Competition concerns in the AI value chain—Focus on key AI inputs and partnerships
1-2 Competition concerns in AI—Focus on downstream and adjacent markets, algorithmic collusion and non-competition issues


2. Policy and regulatory issues (October 4)
2-1 Recent developments on regulatory and policy approaches in digital markets
2-2 Regulatory and policy approaches in AI markets


The Summit adopted the “Digital Competition Communiqué” (Attachment 1) as an outcome document. The Statement includes the following views.
- Creation of innovation by AI
- Competition concerns within the AI
- Guiding principles for ensuring contestability and fostering innovation
- Role of competition authorities (vigorous antitrust enforcement, enhancement of international cooperation, etc.)


In addition, the OECD prepared “Competition Policy in Digital Markets: The Combined Effect of Ex Ante and Ex Post Instruments in G7 Jurisdictions” (Attachment 2), with analysis including the relationship between enforcement cases and ex ante regulations in the digital field.


Moreover, the Italian Competition Authority prepared “Competition In The Artificial Intelligence Tech Stack: Recent Developments and Emerging Issues” (Attachment 3) for the discussion at the summit.


*This announcement is tentative translation. Please refer to the original text written in Japanese for more details.