From monocle to spectacles: competition for data and “data ecosystem building”

ABSTRACT “Data ecosystem” companies on the digital market are unique in that they attain market power through their combination of personal data across many markets. Due to strong network effects of personal data, exploited on a conglomerate level, competition has moved beyond competition on the market and even beyond competition for the market: there is now competition for data. Consequently, we must reconsider not only the traditional concept of market power and market definition, but even the competitive analysis of alleged abuses. Therefore, the Commission’s singular focus on anti-competitive foreclosure does not do justice to the complex competitive effects of data ecosystems’ conduct. Only by fundamentally integrating competitive assessment with personal data protection can we understand data ecosystems and their role in the digital landscape. In order to fully capture the anti-competitive effects and harm done to consumer welfare, we must consider “data ecosystem building” as its own theory of harm.