On 24 January 2011 the CNC Council agreed on the termination by commitments of the investigation proceedings against the FNMT, accepting the commitments offered by FNMT.
The investigation proceedings were commenced on 13 October 2010, following a complaint against the FNMT for alleged restrictive practices. The FNMT was accused of refusing to provide, without justification, a wholesale validation service for electronic certificates, which would allow for the resale of these validation services to third parties.
The CNC requested that the issue be resolved by way of commitments and, as a consequence, the FNMT submitted a series of commitments which are aimed at (i) creating a system of wholesale validation services for FNMT certificates, via the OCSP validation system, and (ii) establishing a wholesale pricing regime separate form the retail pricing regime. To this end, the FNMT has undertaken to incorporate the aforementioned wholesale service into its legal framework in a short, pre-agreed period, and to adopt a standard-form contract for these services which will be disclosed to the public.
The FNMT also undertakes not to adopt measures in relation to retail prices which prevent the development of the wholesale validation market. A retail pricing system for validation services in relation to FNMT certificates will be adopted.
The CNC Council has taken the view that the commitments in question resolve the restrictive effects on competition and that they sufficiently guarantee the public interest. This brings to an end the proceedings in accordance with the provisions of article 52 of Spanish Competition Act 15/2007.
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