The 11th Amendment of the German Act Against Restraints of Competition—A 'New Competition Tool', Facilitated Disgorgement and the DMA's Enforcement.

The article focuses on the 11th amendment to the German Act against Restraints of Competition (11th ARC amendment), which introduces significant reforms to strengthen antitrust enforcement in concentrated markets. Key changes include the establishment of a New Competition Tool (NCT) that allows the Federal Cartel Office (FCO) to intervene directly in markets exhibiting substantial and durable disruptions to competition without requiring proof of explicit antitrust violations. The amendment also facilitates disgorgement of profits from anticompetitive conduct by introducing legal presumptions of financial benefit and enhances the FCO’s role in supporting enforcement of the European Union’s Digital Markets Act (DMA), including enabling private enforcement actions. These reforms aim to address oligopolistic market structures, promote consumer protection, and support digital market regulation while maintaining safeguards against over-enforcement.