CHILE Law and Practice Contributed by: Claudio Lizana, Daniela León, Tomás Appelgren and María Jesús Gaete, Estudio Lizana
Consequently, the ability of private parties to initiate antitrust litigation is a crucial component of the Chil - ean competition law system. It ensures the protection of the interests of both competitors and consumers and facilitates the potential compensation for dam - ages suffered. Antitrust Cases in Chile Copesa and others against Google Copesa, a Chilean media conglomerate, accused Google of engaging in anti-competitive practices in the markets for news publishing and advertising technology (“Adtech”). Specifically, Copesa claimed that Google’s search engine uses content produced by news outlets without proper licensing, summaris - ing and presenting this content to users in Google’s “Knowledge Panels” and “News” sections. This prac - tice allegedly dissuades users from visiting the origi - nal links, thereby depriving news outlets of potential revenue from page visits. Copesa’s lawsuit was followed by analogous claims filed by other media companies: El Mostrador and Cooperativa. Considering the similarity of the three companies’ claims, the court decided in June 2025 to consolidate the proceedings into a single case. The trial has been in the evidentiary phase since early September 2025. Consumer Association v Big Tech In October 2024, a Chilean consumer association called Accion Consumidores filed a lawsuit for abuse of dominant position against Google LLC and other related companies (Google). The plaintiff claims that Google engaged in exclu - sionary practices in the app distribution market by employing technical barriers, issuing misleading secu - rity warnings, and imposing contractual restrictions to block alternative distribution channels. Addition - ally, it accuses Google of entering into revenue-shar - ing agreements with Android device manufacturers (OEMs), and making payments to both OEMs and app developers. The plaintiff claims that these prac - tices amounted to de facto exclusive dealing arrange - ments, which required OEMs to prioritise and prein - stall Google’s products and services exclusively, while
app developers were compelled to distribute most or all of their products through Google Play Store. Finally, the plaintiff claims that Google unlawfully tied Google Play Billing to Play Store access, coercing develop - ers to exclusively use its service and preventing them from offering cheaper payment alternatives to users. Later, in May 2025, Accion Consumidores filed a sec - ond lawsuit, this time against Apple, Inc., accusing the company of engaging in monopolistic and anti- competitive practices in Chile over the past 15 years, specifically: • imposing exclusive distribution of iOS apps through the App Store, preventing developers from distributing their apps to iOS smartphone and iPad users via other platforms; and • forcing the use of Apple’s In-App Purchase sys - tem and prohibiting developers from redirecting or informing users about external payment options. Interestingly, in May 2025, the FNE also filed a lawsuit against Google LLC, accusing it of restricting compe - tition in the markets for the distribution of apps and the distribution of in-app paid digital goods, in both cases within the Android operating system. It is also expected to do the same with respect to Apple, Inc., since it is a publicly known that the FNE is conducting an open investigation into the company. 1.2 Recent Developments The Highest Fine for an Antitrust Violation: The Case Against CDF This case is a combination of public and private lit - igation, as it arises from lawsuits filed both by the FNE and by VTR Comunicaciones SpA (VTR, a pay- tv operator) against Canal del Fútbol (CDF), a sports television channel that currently operates under the name TNT Sports. Specifically, the FNE and VTR accused CDF of abusing its dominant position by engaging in conduct harmful to pay-TV operators. These practices occurred with - in the live broadcasting industry for matches of the national professional football championship and other tournaments organised by the National Association of Professional Football (ANFP).
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