Exclusionary and Exploitative Abuse of Consumer Data

Abstract

This chapter advances a novel hybrid concept of abuse of consumer data, alongside algorithmic price discrimination and consumer data combinations, which have negative exclusionary and exploitative welfare effects on the fundamental freedom of business action and consumer choice, respectively. It advances legal interpretations to close the gap in the abuse of a dominant position when applied in conjunction with the Digital Markets Act (DMA) provisions relevant to consumer data combinations, digital tying, and algorithmic discrimination. This chapter argues that digital conglomerate mergers and killer acquisitions help sustain unfair consumer data–driven competitive advantage and consumer data combinations detrimental to as-efficient competitors of digital monopolists and consumers. It identifies legislative lacunae concerning the use of AI software algorithms for greater predictive analytics of consumer behaviour due to the availability of consumer experience, location, medical and financial data, and marketing strategies, such as personalised offers. For consumer justice, this chapter argues for economic consumer privacy inclusiveness, namely greater consumer autonomy over economic choices and preferences and greater consumer bargaining of reservation prices with further consumer empowerment in physical and virtual locations.

Keywords: exclusionary and exploitative consumer data abuse, digital monopolies, digital conglomerate mergers and acquisitions, algorithmic discrimination, consumer data combinations

JEL Classification: L12, L 41, L 4