Antitrust Law and Digital Markets: A Guide to the European Competition Law Experience in the Digital Economy

Abstract

Leading jurisdictions around the world are debating whether the nature of data-driven digital markets and the smart technologies that enable these markets require a re-thinking of how antitrust law applies to digital markets. There are many aspects to consider in this discussion, relating both to the analytical tools that competition law applies and to the way that anti-competitive behaviour is understood. This contribution provides an overview of the challenges that competition law faces in digital markets, including market definition, market power assessments, anti-competitive agreements, abuse of dominance and mergers. It analyses how European competition law has dealt with these challenges in the recent past and discusses what provisional conclusions some of the major European reports have arrived at in order to meet these challenges. It outlines those areas of competition law that require new answers, either by competition law practice, through soft law instruments or by legislators.

Keywords: abuse of dominance, anti-competitive agreements, antitrust law, competition law, data concentration, data markets, data protection, digital economy, digital platforms, dominant position, killer acquisitions, market definition, market power, modernisation, platform markets, privacy

JEL Classification: D42, D43, K21, K42, L41, O30