Miguel Moura e Silva is the new Member of the Board of the Competition Authority and has already commented on the measures he would like to see implemented

Miguel Moura e Silva is the new member of the Board of Directors of the Competition Authority and has significant knowledge of Competition Law.

From 2004 to 2013, he was head of the Department of Restrictive Practices at the Competition Authority, having been involved in the inception of this Authority.

Miguel Moura e Silva admits that the reality has changed and that it was essential to have access to digital evidence. Obstacles arose in accessing emails, which significantly hindered investigations into cartels. This issue was overcome, but other barriers have arisen, as emails are used increasingly less in these types of practices. To the detriment of this means of communication, it is increasingly common to use other resources, such as Messenger and Whatsapp.

The new member of the Competition Authority has emphasized the importance of access to these means of communication being authorized, in order to avoid any failure in the investigations carried out by the Competition Authority.

Miguel Moura e Silva believes that the current law already allows these means to be seized, although subject to the authorizations of the investigating judge. However, this is not the opinion of all experts, and this issue is still open, and is even being discussed within the scope of the transposition of an ECN+ Directive, regarding the reinforcing of the powers conferred on the Competition Authority.

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