Extended access to electronic data for the Belgian Competition Authority
The Belgian legislator has amended some competition law provisions in Book IV Code of Economic law. The new Act endows the Belgian Competition Authority (BCA) with the power to ask an operator (in the sense of the Act on electronic communications) to provide traffic data, location data, identification data, documents and IP addresses in relation to a company, a professional association or an individual under investigation by the BCA.
BCA’s investigations facilitated by extended access to data
The new Act designates the BCA as an administrative authority responsible for safeguarding an important economic interest of the European Union or Belgium within the meaning of the Act of 13 June 2005 on electronic communications (as amended by the Law of 20 July 2022 on the collection and retention of identification data and metadata in the electronic communications sector and the provision of such data to authorities).
As a result, the BCA is now entrusted with the power to ask an operator (in the sense of the Act on electronic communications) to provide traffic data, location data, identification data, documents and IP addresses in relation to a company, a professional association or natural person who is the subject of an investigation by the BCA. As a safeguard against abuse, the BCA needs to obtain a prior authorisation by a judge (just like in the case of a dawn raid), on the basis of a reasoned request. The BCA may lodge an appeal in case this authorisation is refused.
Furthermore, to ensure transparency regarding the BCA's access and use of electronic communications data, the BCA is obliged to publish in its annual report, the number of accesses granted, the number of individuals concerned, and the impact of these accesses on the exercise of its tasks. These requirements aim to avoid any request which is not proportional to the purpose pursued by the BCA, or which would be abusive, and to protect personal data in an appropriate manner.
Notice of a planned merger no longer published in the Belgian Official Gazette
Until now, an extract of the notification of a concentration to the BCA was published both in the Belgian Official Gazette and on the BCA’s website. The new law also repeals the compulsory publication of the merger notice in the Belgian Official Gazette.
The legislator considers this compulsory publication no longer necessary as long as the information regarding the notification of the operation is available on the website of the BCA and allows third parties to share their observations before an indicated deadline.
