Value of data matters when mergers are assessed for competition effects
Digital platforms inquiry looks into ways to better deal with the market power that may be exercised by digital platforms such as Facebook and Google
The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission recently released its preliminary report on the digital platforms inquiry, which is looking into ways to better understand and deal with the market power that may be exercised by digital platforms such as Facebook and Google. Given that it is often a concern that large tech firms achieve power through acquisitions, this forms part of the inquiry. In particular, the commission has also recommended that the standard for assessing mergers be adjusted to explicitly take into account the relevance of data acquired in the transaction. This is not the first time this consideration in mergers is seen, particularly in international markets. In particular the May 2017 Facebook-WhatsApp €110m post-merger fine lends some lessons here. These considerations raise some issues for local competition stakeholders (businesses and authorities alike) to consider, particularly in carrying their assessments of transactions in markets that not only involve...
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