NEWSLETTER-2017

98 NEWSLETTER 2017 Restrictions as to Online Selling and Online Advertising Within this context, the most implemented restriction is the price restriction at 42%. After reiterating the prohibition of resale price maintenance, the EU Commission mentions its concerns on this subject. It states that both manufacturers and retailers monitor online prices through various computer programs, thereby easily identifying the deviations from the recommended prices. Furthermore, this price transparency will ease any price collusions in the market. The EU Commission scrutinized the restrictions particularly re- lated to online platforms. It addresses that manufacturers’ restrictions of online sales give rise to competitive concerns. Although the EU Commission has determined that the majority of the retailers (90%) use their own online stores, it is has also confirmed that the importance of the online platforms will gradually increase. According to the EU Commission, the online platforms are more important for small and medium-sized retailers than for large retailers. 18% of retailers state that the agreements with their suppliers contain online platform restrictions. These restrictions are generally with regard to selective distribution systems. The EU Commission has refrained from making any observa- tions with regard to one of the most important conclusions of the E- Commerce Report - online platform restrictions implemented in the selective distribution systems. The EU Commission states that the restrictions related to online platforms should not be automatically considered to be hard and fast restrictions. Instead, the EU Commis- sion suggests a case by case analysis within the context of the market conditions. Furthermore, in the E-Commerce Report, the EU Commission addresses geographic restrictions, which are called “geo blocking.” 11% of retailers reported that they have cross-border sale restrictions on at least one product that they sell. The EU Commission states that these kinds of restrictions may raise to various competitive concerns. The last point is related to “big data” that is used in e-commerce. The EU Commission determined that the “big data,” which is com-