Participation of the Autorité de la concurrence in the G7 summit organised by the Italian presidency on digital competition

The President of the Autorité de la concurrence, Benoît Cœuré, participated in the summit organised by the Italian presidency in Rome on 3 and 4 October.

The focus of this year's summit was the competition concerns raised by the development of generative artificial intelligence (AI). At the conclusion of the summit, the G7 competition authorities and policymakers adopted a "Digital Competition Communiqué", expressing a shared commitment to foster and protect competition in the AI sector.

Identified priorities and challenges

The 2024 edition of the G7 summit on digital competition was chaired by the Autorità Garante della Concorrenza e del Mercato (Italy) and brought together competition authorities and policymakers from the G7 countries (United States, United Kingdom, Germany, Canada, Italy, Japan, France), as well as the European Commission and the OECD.

During the summit, the participants discussed in particular:

• key features and current trends in the generative AI sector;
• the main competition concerns linked to the concentrated control of crucial inputs, barriers to entry, the presence of dominant players at several layers of the value chain, partnerships and agreements between digital giants and innovative players, and the risk of algorithmic collusion;
• risks relating to innovation and copyright, consumer protection, and personal data;
• guiding principles to safeguard competition and fair access to the technology;
• the interplay between ex ante regulation and the application of competition law;
• the role of the G7 competition authorities and policymakers and the importance of international competition in developing coherent and effective responses to the wide-ranging problems posed by generative AI;
• the next steps ahead of the Canadian presidency of the G7 in 2025.

G7 work

At the conclusion of the summit, the G7 competition authorities and policymakers adopted a "Digital Competition Communiqué". The joint statement sets out initiatives to foster and protect competition in the generative AI sector, which is developing rapidly and holds transformative promise for our societies.

The participants also published a working document summarising the discussions held throughout the year between representatives of the competition authorities on specific concerns linked to the development of AI.

Lastly, the OECD prepared a note analysing the combined effect of ex ante and ex post instruments on competition in digital markets.

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