Interactions between EU Competition Law and Data Protection in Digital Markets: Striving for Coherence

Abstract

This chapter explores the interplay between EU competition law and data protection in digital markets. Having provided an overview of shared values such as individual welfare, fairness, individual sovereignty, and the mitigation of power and information asymmetries, it discusses how these overarching commonalities manifest in practical enforcement of these legal domains and explores strategies to enhance coherence between them. The focus is on two areas of EU competition law: abuse of a dominant position and merger control. As regards the former, it scrutinises first the notion of exploitative abuses and provides an in-depth insight into the Meta Platforms judgement issued recently by the Court of Justice of the European Union. It then shows how addressing anticompetitive exclusion can also play a role in indirectly fostering the development of a privacy-friendly economy. Additionally, the chapter explores how business conduct that allegedly improves data protection, but simultaneously restricts competition, should be approached under competition law. Insights are also provided into the integration of the notions of power and dominance into GDPR analyses. As regards merger control, the chapter illustrates how data protection considerations have been and can be integrated into substantive merger assessments, and how merger remedies can be designed in a more privacy-friendly manner.

Keywords: EU competition law, EU data protection law, privacy, abuse of dominance, power, merger control, coherence

JEL Classification: K21, L40, L41