The Netherlands Authority for Consumers and Markets (Dutch: Autoriteit Consument & Markt (ACM)) is the competition regulator in The Netherlands. It is a regulatory authority based in The Hague. It is charged with competition oversight, sector-specific regulation of several sectors, and enforcement of consumer protection laws. [1] It enforces Section 24 of the Dutch Competition Act.
The Authority falls under the responsibility of the Ministry of Economic Affairs and employs around 600 persons, divided over multiple Directions e.g. Direction of Consumers, Competition, Healthcare, Transportation etc.
ACM was founded on 1 April 2013 through the merger of the Consumer Authority (Consumentenautoriteit, CA), the Independent Postal and Telecommunications Authority (Onafhankelijke Post en Telecommunicatie Autoriteit, OPTA), and the Netherlands Competition Authority (Nederlandse Mededingingsautoriteit, NMa). [2] [3]
In 2017 ACM imposed a fine of 41 million euros on Nederlandse Spoorwegen for abuse of its position by means of predatory pricing and related practices. [4]
In 2018 it revoked the energy licence of One Select, a sister company of the UK energy supplier, because it could no longer “comply with the requirements of its energy licence”. [5] It approved the takeover by HeadFirst Source Group NV of Myler, a Dutch contract management and global sourcing company. [6] It forced VodafoneZiggo and KPN to open up their fixed networks to third party providers after a market analysis of Wholesale Fixed Access showed that between them they dominated the market. [7] It set new prices for water and electricity on Bonaire from 1 April 2018. [8]
In 2020, ACM fined tobacco makers British American Tobacco, Philip Morris, Japan Tobacco International and Van Nelle a total of 82 million euros ($95.7 million) for illegally exchanging information about future pricing plans in the 2008-2011 period. [9]
In 2022, ACM levied ten weekly fines totaling 50 million euros ($55 million) against Apple Inc. for failure to comply with an order to make it possible for dating app providers in the Netherlands to use non-Apple payment methods. [10]
Television in the Netherlands was officially introduced in 1951. In the Netherlands, the television market is divided between a number of commercial networks, such as RTL Nederland, and a system of public broadcasters sharing three channels, NPO 1, NPO 2, and NPO 3. Imported programmes, as well as news interviews with responses in a foreign language, are almost always shown in their original language, with subtitles.
Vodafone Libertel B.V. is the second largest mobile phone company in the Netherlands, and was previously called Libertel. It is part of VodafoneZiggo, a joint venture between Ziggo and Vodafone Group.
Tele2 AB is a provider of mobile and fixed connectivity, telephony, data network services, TV, streaming and global Internet of Things services, amongst others, to consumers and enterprises. It is headquartered in Kista Science City, Stockholm, Sweden. It is a major mobile network operator in Sweden, Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania. The company initially founded Tele2 Russia, but later sold all its operations, only leasing the use of its brand name.
The Office of Gas and Electricity Markets (Ofgem), supporting the Gas and Electricity Markets Authority, is the government regulator for the electricity and downstream natural gas markets in Great Britain. It was formed by the merger of the Office of Electricity Regulation (OFFER) and Office of Gas Supply (Ofgas).
MediaMarkt is a German multinational chain of stores selling consumer electronics with over 1000 stores in ten countries in Europe. With the Saturn chain of stores it constitutes Media-Saturn Holding, owned by the retail company Ceconomy, which was demerged from Metro Group in 2017.
ACM or A.C.M. may refer to:
Eneco, the trading name of Eneco Groep N.V., is a producer and supplier of natural gas, electricity and heat in the Netherlands, serving more than 2 million business and residential customers. Eneco headquarters are located in Rotterdam. It also carries out energy trading and is involved in sustainable energy projects. Eneco is the largest power company in South Holland.
The Netherlands Competition Authority was the competition regulator for the Netherlands. After a merger with the Consumentenautoriteit and Onafhankelijke Post en Telecommunicatie Autoriteit on 1 April 2013, it became the Netherlands Authority for Consumers and Markets. The Netherlands Competition Authority monitored all Dutch markets, to ensure fair competition.
The Onafhankelijke Post en Telecommunicatie Autoriteit was an independent Dutch government agency charged with enforcing Dutch law on telecommunication, post and cable TV services that operated between 1997 and 2013. It was set up in 1997 as part of major government changes in the Dutch telecommunication sector and was absorbed by the Netherlands Authority for Consumers and Markets in April 2013.
Healthcare in the Netherlands is differentiated along three dimensions (1) level (2) physical versus mental and (3) short term versus long term care.
Dutch FilmWorks B.V. is a Dutch film distributor founded in 1998, based in Utrecht, the Netherlands, focusing on Benelux rights mainly to release films theatrically, on DVD, Blu-ray and VOD. They are also a publisher and distributor of books and magazines.
The Italian Competition Authority is the competition regulator in Italy. It is an Italian quasi-autonomous non-governmental organization established on the basis of Law №287 of 10 October 1990.
The Caribbean Netherlands is a geographic region of the Netherlands located outside of Europe, in the Caribbean, consisting of three special municipalities. These are the islands of Bonaire, Sint Eustatius and Saba, as they are also known in legislation, or the BES islands for short. The islands are officially classified as public bodies in the Netherlands and as overseas territories of the European Union; as such, European Union law does not automatically apply to them.
Talpa Network is a Dutch media conglomerate created by John de Mol Jr. in 2017.
On June 4, 2012, the Netherlands became the first country in Europe and the second in the world, after Chile, to enact a network neutrality law. The main net neutrality provision of this law requires that "Providers of public electronic communication networks used to provide Internet access services as well as providers of Internet access services will not hinder or slow down services or applications on the Internet".
Ziggo B.V. is the largest cable operator in the Netherlands, providing digital cable television, Internet, and telephone service to both residential and commercial customers.
Odido Netherlands is the largest mobile phone company in the Netherlands. It was owned by Deutsche Telekom before being sold to WP/AP Telecom Holdings IV B.V., a joint venture between Warburg Pincus and Apax Partners. From 2021–23, it licensed the T-Mobile brand name from Deutsche Telekom. As of January 2024, it had 6.9 million customers.
The Dutch Data Protection Authority is the data protection authority for the Netherlands and an independent administrative body that has been appointed by law as the supervisory authority for the processing of personal data. The organization is therefore concerned with privacy. The duties of the AP derive from the Data Protection Directive that applies to all countries of the EU. This directive has been replaced by the General Data Protection Regulation. The Implementation Act General Data Protection Regulation has replaced the Personal Data Protection Act and appointed the AP as supervisor. All EU Member States have their own body, similar to the AP.
The Pharmaceutical Accountability Foundation was established in Amsterdam in July 2018 to deal with pharmaceutical companies that demand excessive prices for medicines in the Netherlands. This followed a report by the Raad voor de Volksgezondheid en Zorg in 2017. Wilbert Bannenberg, an epidemiologist, is the chairman. The group plans to deploy both health and pharmaceutical expertise and lawyers.
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