Request from GI rannsóknir ehf. (Gallup) for an exemption for standardised measurements of public use of online media in Iceland

The Competition Authority has today published a decision (no. 24/2016) setting out conditions for the cooperation between certain online media and GI rannsóknir ehf. (Gallup) on standardised measurements of the public's use of online media in Iceland. On behalf of its partners, Gallup had requested an exemption from the provisions of the Competition Act which prohibit anti-competitive collaboration between companies. The exemption has now been granted subject to specific conditions, which are primarily intended to ensure that the cooperation between the companies in question facilitates the entry of new and smaller companies into the online media market. 

The project will harmonise information, on the one hand, about visits to Icelandic websites and, on the other, about demographic factors (age, gender, place of residence, etc.) which will be obtained through questionnaires. In handling the matter, the Competition Authority sought the views of the partners in the collaboration, public bodies and other stakeholders, and also requested opinions and various information for the purpose of its investigation.