Uzbekistan’s Competition Promotion and Consumer Protection Committee hosted a high-level roundtable focused on advancing antitrust regulation for digital platforms within the country’s growing digital economy. This event brought together domestic stakeholders, international digital platform representatives, and experts from the World Bank to discuss regulatory frameworks tailored to platform-based markets.
The discussion examined emerging global trends and approaches in overseeing digital markets, with special attention to adapting legal and institutional mechanisms to new economic realities. The Deputy Chairman of the Committee emphasized the importance of revisiting Uzbekistan’s competitive environment in light of rapid digital expansion, setting the stage for strategic reforms in antitrust oversight.
World Bank expert Alexey Ivanov, director of the BRICS Competition Law and Policy Center, presented insights on recent legislative developments worldwide. He outlined novel regulatory tools designed to strike a balance between fostering innovation and preserving competition, highlighting the challenges of defining market dominance and ensuring consumer protection in digital ecosystems.
Participants debated several critical issues, including the need to modernize criteria for evaluating dominance among digital platform operators and introducing specialized regulatory procedures for global technology firms. They discussed options to remove barriers that hinder competition, reduce entry obstacles for new market players, and strengthen both the legal and institutional frameworks guiding digital competition policy.
Officials overseeing the roundtable indicated that recommendations from the event would inform future reforms in Uzbekistan’s antitrust policies, aiming to align the country’s regulations with international best practices. This collaborative effort seeks to promote open, transparent, and competitive market conditions that support sustainable digital growth and protect consumer interests.