Balancing protection of personal data with levelling the playing field is a fine art
The acquisition of large amounts of data can create economic barriers to entry, which eliminates rivals
Data protection and competition law both influence the exercise of economic activity and seek to enhance the interests of individuals. Personal data has become the object of trade, and companies compete to acquire and process this data. This rivalry has necessitated the application of competition law, albeit personal data is protected through data protection law.
Competition authorities worldwide have started to consider the implications of data privacy concerns in merger decisions. These have included those of Facebook-Instagram, Facebook-WhatsApp, Google-DoubleClick and Microsoft-LinkedIn. None of these decisions offer authoritative guidance, apart from a mere reference to potential data privacy concerns...
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