Il diritto della concorrenza nei mercati digitali fra eccessi di regolamentazione ed esperimenti normativi: il caso delle regulatory sandboxes

This article examines the regulatory sandbox as an experimental regulatory instrument and its relationship with competition law, particularly in the context of digital markets. The analysis also considers how the sandbox may interact with ex ante regulation, namely the Digital Markets Act, and the enforcement of antitrust law ex post. The article highlights benefits of regulatory sandboxes as a means for developing new pro-competitive regulation of digital markets, while also identifying competitive risks, such as the potential for favoring sandbox participants over excluded competitors or facilitating collusion between competitors. The analysis draws on a range of concrete examples of regulatory sandboxes, (*)Professoressa associata presso Università di Torino. (**)Ricercatrice presso l’Università di Brescia. Nonostante il lavoro sia frutto di riflessioni comuni, a Cristina Poncibò si devono gli interi paragrafi 3, 4 e il sotto-paragrafo 6.3; a Laura Zoboli si devono gli interi paragrafi 2, 5 e i sotto-paragrafi 6.1 e 6.2; i paragrafi 1 e 7 sono stati scritti congiuntamente.which at the same time confirms the uniqueness of each experiment. Overall, this article offers insights into the potential for regulatory sandboxes to promote competition and innovation while also highlighting the importance of carefully balancing the benefits and risks of this regulatory approach and, in doing so, takes part in the more general debate on the evolution of competition policy in Europe