Ensuring Competition in the Clouds: The Role of Competition Law?

Abstract

This article examines the potential applicability of competition law to the cloud computing sector, as well as assessing its suitability as a regulatory regime. It then considers alternative legal mechanisms, specifically measures to promote open standards and interoperability in the context of public procurement, as well as a data portability right as a demand-side measure. Despite being early days, the article argues that these latter mechanisms are likely to have a more significant impact on competition in the cloud computing sector than intervention using traditional competition measures.

Keywords: Competition law, public procurement, interoperability, open standards, data protection, cloud computing, anti-competitive agreements, abuse of dominant position, state aids, intellectual property rights