French tech star Doctolib has been fined 4.665 million euros for anti-competitive practices, which tarnishes the image of one of the few French start-ups to have established its brand with the general public.
Doctolib, which sells its services to healthcare professionals, "deliberately implemented several anti-competitive practices (...) responding to a comprehensive, structured and coherent anti-competitive strategy aimed at locking up the markets concerned and excluding competing companies," the Competition Authority, which sanctioned the company, said in a statement.
Doctolib, which feared the Authority's decision, reacted immediately, announcing in a statement that it was appealing this decision which "presents an erroneous reading of our activity and our sector".
The company is targeted for its activity in its flagship markets of online appointment booking and teleconsultation, which it dominates very largely according to the Authority's figures: "from 70 to 90% of market share" for online appointments, and "more than 40%" of market share on teleconsultation.
The Competition Authority criticizes it for clauses obliging healthcare professionals to use only its service, to the exclusion of others, and for tied sales, for example by requiring healthcare professionals wishing to subscribe to the teleconsultation offer to subscribe to the online appointment service.
The Competition Authority also accuses Doctolib of having bought its main competitor, "MonDocteur", in 2018, paving the way, according to them, for regular price increases thereafter.
"In concrete terms, for new customers, the rates have increased from 109 euros per month at the time of acquisition to 129 euros in March 2019, then 139 euros in March 2021 and 149 euros in March 2023," said Fabienne Siredey-Garnier, the Vice-President of the Authority.
Doctolib, for its part, lamented that the decision is the "consequence of a complaint dating back to 2019," filed by one of its "historical competitors" in the medical software market (Editor's note: Cegedim).
Doctolib disputes the Authority's grievances. Regarding tied selling, for example, it claims that "disconnecting" the teleconsultation offer from the online appointment offer "would lead to significant difficulties for patient follow-up and the daily activity of healthcare professionals."
As for the acquisition of "MonDocteur", which at the time equipped "2% des soignants", it was "an external growth operation which is absolutely commonplace in the life of a company", the company said.
– “Kill the product” –
The decision is enforceable, and Doctolib will therefore have to pay the public treasury the amount of the fine, although it may recover it, with interest, if the Paris Court of Appeal, which has jurisdiction to hear its appeal, rules in its favor.
Furthermore, Doctolib must immediately cease the anti-competitive practices identified by the decision that would continue to exist, particularly in the area of tied selling, the Authority stressed.
In this case, the Authority had gathered, notably during a search in 2021, numerous internal documents supporting its accusations.
At the time of the acquisition of MonDocteur, internal documents thus evoke the desire to "kill the product" in order to achieve the "disappearance" of the competitor, the Authority indicates.
Doctolib, founded in 2013, now has approximately 3,000 employees. Its annual revenue reached €348 million in 2024.
“Doctolib is a great French success, a great technological and commercial success,” said Benoit Coeuré, president of the Competition Authority. But “our decision serves as a reminder that ignorance of the law is no excuse,” he added.
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