Konkurransetilsynet

Activities

Online information
The Competition Authority's website serves as an important source of information for the public, trade and industry and the media. Each week, news about competition is presented on konkurransetilsynet.no, and the most important news is translated into English.

Mergers that are under review are regularly reported in both Norwegian and English.

The Competition Authority's website conforms with the quality requirements that have been stipulated for public websites, and it was awarded six out of six possible stars in a quality assessment conducted during the autumn of 2009 by Difi (the Norwegian Agency for Public Management and eGovernment). Of the 46 directorates and authorities assessed, the Competition Authority received the highest average rating. The website fulfilled absolutely all the criteria under the "availability" category.

Almost 265,000 people visited konkurransetilsynet.no during the course of 2009. This website receives an average of 26,000 hits per month. Its information about energy prices was accessed by 195,105 unique users in 2009, and is by far the most popular service at www.konkurransetilsynet.no.

Unique visitors at www.kt.no per month in 2009 

The Competition Authority in the media
Media coverage is important for providing large numbers of people with information about the Authority’s activities. The Competition Authority generally receives significant media attention, but the number of items in the media was considerably lower in 2009 as compared with previous years. Many of these items featured in media with broad coverage and readers who constitute the Authority's key target groups.

* KOFA-related articles not included
** Media references to the list of energy prices not included

Press releases and media coverage per month in 2009

 Press releases at konkurransetilsynet.no
 Media coverage of the Norwegian Competition Authority

Information campaign on leniency
An information film about illegal cooperation and leniency  was shown on the Oslo Airport Express Train between downtown Oslo and the main airport during the period 2 February - 1 March 2009. The primary aim of this campaign was to increase awareness of the leniency programme among company managers and trade organisations and to encourage more people to report illegal activities.

430,000 people travelled on the Airport Express Train during the period when the Competition Authority's cartel film was being shown on the Train's screens. According to the Train's sales agent, around half of these - 215,000 - could be defined as business travellers. The primary target group for the film was managers of small and medium-sized companies.

This campaign and the anti-cartel battle received excellent coverage on TV2's news broadcast on 29 January 2009. Director of Investigations Eirik Stolt-Nielsen has linked the general message about the leniency programme to the Government's "crisis package" for the financial crisis. When such a large number of public tenders for building and construction work are issued over the course of a relatively short period of time, it is particularly important to be aware of the risk of illegal price-fixing and bid-rigging.

The message contained in the film shown on the Airport Express Train about competition crime and the leniency programme also featured in 10 other local, regional and trade media.