Newsletter-21

154 NEWSLETTER 2016 followed by other investigations 9 in different countries regarding online reservation services providers, such as Booking and HRS. In addition, Amazon’s MFN/price parity policy is also being investigated by the United Kingdom Competition &Markets Authority, the Federal German Cartel Office, and the EU Commission 10 . Thus, we may conclude that the MFN Clause will continue to be evaluated within the scope of competition law. Yemek Sepeti Decision and Initiation of the Discussions of the MFN Clause in Turkey In Turkey, the MFN Clause is evaluated for the first time in detail with the Yemek Sepeti decision. The Competition Board ruled that Yemek Sepeti abused its dominant position with its MFN practices, and infringes upon the competition 11 . The prominent issue is that the Competition Board decided that MFN Practices should be abandoned, which was even more important than the imposition of an administra- tive fine in the amount of TRY 427,977.70. The Turkish Competition Authority ruled that all MFN Clauses should be excluded from the agreements within 120 days, as the res- taurants should not be forced to apply the same favored offers granted to the other competitive platforms, Yemek Sepeti, and such practices create an exclusionary effect. Thus, similarly with the EU competition law, the Turkish Competition Authority aims to exclude MFN Clauses from the agreements, and eliminate barriers before the free determina- tion of prices by the restaurants. Conclusion The MFN practices that have been heavily discussed under EU competition law are an important issue especially for the online platforms. MFN practices adopted by online platforms that are in a dec_docs/39847/39847_27536_4.pdf (Erişim Tarihi: 21.06.2016). 9 Booking-Expedia decision of Competition and Markets Authority, CE/9320-10. 10 Please See the press release on the Amazon Investigation: http://europa.eu/rapid/ press-release_IP-15-5166_en.htm (Access Date: 21.06.2016). 11 Please see: http://www.rekabet.gov.tr/File/?path=ROOT%2f1%2fDocuments%2f G%c3%bcncel%2fsorusturmalar%2fyemek+sepeti.pdf (Access Date: 21.06.2016).