Digital market regulations in Europe − particularly the Digital Markets Act and the Digital Services Act − are designed to limit the dominance of major gatekeepers, strengthen competition and enhance user protection. However, their implementation continues to face notable challenges. Meanwhile, digital market regulation in the US is currently characterised by a shift away from comprehensive, proactive legislation (like the EU's Digital Markets Act) toward a reliance on traditional, ex-post antitrust enforcement often influenced by political, economic and trade-related debates. Whereas in Africa, the COMESA Competition and Consumer Commission adopted new digital markets regulations in December 2025 aimed at overseeing gatekeepers operating within the COMESA region.

The panel will explore the current challenges facing digital market regulations, discuss ways to enhance regulatory frameworks and assess the effectiveness of these measures from both European, American and African perspectives. It will also consider how competition authorities can administer enforcement penalties, promote fair and balanced regulation without slowing innovation, address data privacy concerns and manage the interests of both gatekeepers and consumers.