ACM publishes new report: the State of the Market 2026

The Netherlands Authority for Consumers and Markets (ACM) has published the ‘State of the Market’, a new annual publication. This report describes the trend of competition in the 2011-2023 period, using several common indicators for competition, which concern market concentration, market dynamism, and market outcomes. Taken together, these indicators suggest that competition has decreased over the past ten years, particularly in sectors that are already highly concentrated. That picture matches the trend of competition across Europe. Less competition leads to higher prices, reduced quality, and less innovation, as well as to reduced productivity and resilience of society. The report outlines possible routes for protecting competition in the Netherlands, and, as such, for promoting innovation and resilience. These routes are:

1. Competition enforcement is crucial, while keeping in mind dynamic efficiency.
2. Eliminate obstacles that impede businesses from growing.
3. Expand markets through further-reaching European integration.
4. Stimulate regional and European ecosystems around innovative value chains.

Current topics

Well-functioning markets require more than competition alone. Various forms of market failures may put public interests at stake. The report highlights three current topics: the growth of private equity, the dependence on cloud services, and the competition for attention (‘the attention economy’).

• Private equity contributes to investments and productivity, but if profit incentives become too strong, they can harm public interests in situations with market power or information asymmetry, for example, between vets and pet owners. This calls for proportionate, sector-specific measures.
• With regard to cloud services, Dutch businesses and the government, including ACM, depend on a few large non-European suppliers. This creates market power, and also strategic and security risks. Active government involvement, both at the national and European level, combined with competition enforcement and sector-specific measures, is needed for reducing that dependence.
• In the attention economy (the ‘commercialization’ of attention), addictive designs and deceptive techniques used by businesses harm the wellbeing of users. Social media platforms and gaming companies compete for attention, and try to hold that attention as long as possible. This brings harm to society, for example, through loneliness and polarization among youth. With regard to the attention economy, a combination of actions is needed: raising awareness through education, legislative protection, and coordinated enforcement of European rules.