On the Nexus of EU Competition Policy and Data Protection - Robin Vandendriessche

The digital economy has brought far-reaching changes to the ‘marketplace’. These developments have been occurring at a highspeed pace and challenge competition policy in multiple ways. Hence, there is an urgent call to update competition law and policy to better fit the digital economy. This topic subsequently ranks high on policy as well as academic agendas. Notwithstanding a vast interest, the debates on the role of data protection in competition cases are fierce and many questions remain unanswered. This is, at least partly, due to the complexity of data, having both positive and negative effects on competition, as well as to its interdisciplinary nature. This project on the nexus of EU competition law and policy and data protection aims to make at least four main contributions. First, we take stock of how data concerns have been dealt with in competition law cases, studying approaches across types of competition cases and industries as well as their evolution. Second, we envisage a better understanding of the specific issues of data accumulation and privacy in merger cases, investigating competition policy approaches and their consequences ex post. Third, we empirically document the impact of strict data protection rules on market dynamics, including the perspective of SME’s and start-ups. Fourth, keeping in mind the relevant legal frameworks, we build a practical policy toolkit on data concerns in competition cases. To reach these objectives, this interdisciplinary project (law and economics) draws on a mixed-methods approach, including document analysis, interviews, focus groups, a survey and econometric analyses. The results will be disseminated through scientific publications, but also via more policy and practitioner-oriented pieces, as well as to a broader audience. The project also aspires to contribute to the educational activities of EUTOPIA’s learning communities, strengthening not only joint research, but also the educational ties between our institutions.