TechREG Chronicle^® – Ex Ante Regulation

Classically, the competition rules are known as an ex post instrument, whereas (sectoral) regulation is known as ex ante. In reality, however, the lines between the two categories are frequently blurred. Ex ante competition rules are laid out in general terms in legislation (in the EU, in the Treaty, Regulations, and Guidelines issued by the EU Commission; and in the U.S., in Acts of Congress and the various guidelines issued by the FCC, FTC, and DOJ, among others). Competition authorities (and judges) take decisions that establish past behavior as having infringed those rules or not (and such decisions are typically regarded as ex post).