Competition, Data and Privacy in the Digital Economy: Towards a Privacy Dimension in Competition Policy?

International Competition Law Series 86

About this book:

Competition, Data and Privacy in the Digital Economy is a timely and interesting book that provides an in-depth understanding of the intersection of competition and privacy in the data-driven economy and offers a comprehensive insight into competition policy in the digital economy, its current shortcomings, especially the growing role of personal data. The past decade has been marked by rapid development in technology and innovation, revolving much around sharing personal information, enabling the development of valuable products and services, and in doing so, we grant access to our personal information. As we enter the third decade of the 21st century, the overview of the contemporary interplay between competition, data and privacy in the digital economy and analysis of the growing privacy dimension in modern competition policy takes a critical look to evaluate whether the system in its current form and with the existing approach is capable of tackling the challenges raised by the role of personal data in the shift from an offline to an online economy.

What’s in this book:

Challenging the commonplace assumption that privacy has little or no role and relevance in competition law, the author’s penetrating analysis accomplishes the following and much more:

• surveys legal policy developments on the role of privacy in competition law;
• underlines the importance of non-price parameters in competition, such as consumer choice;
• clearly explains why and how competition law can protect privacy among its policy objectives; and
• addresses challenges in measuring the intangible harm of digital privacy violation in assessing abuse of market power.

The author analyses whether privacy as well as price should be a consideration for competition policy in digital markets and, if so, how it should be addressed. Recent case law in Europe and elsewhere, a revealing comparison between relevant European Union (EU) and United States (US) practice, the expanded role of the EU’s Competition Commissioner, and the likely impact of such phenomena as the coronavirus pandemic are all drawn into the book’s remit.

How this will help you:

In her analysis of the growing privacy dimension in competition policy, the author examines the topic from a broad perspective that includes societal, political, economic, historical and cultural elements. Providing a comparison between EU and US practice, this book makes recommendations for future developments. Insightful multidimensional and value-based review will prove to be of immeasurable value to practitioners, academics, policymakers and enforcers in its identification of possible implications for business practice as we go forward.