Privacy considerations in the context of merger control

Ioannis Kokkoris

Chapter 12 in Research Handbook on Data, Privacy and Competition Law, 2025, pp 279-312 from Edward Elgar Publishing

Abstract: The relationship between privacy and competition – and hence between privacy law and competition law – is a contentious one. This contention has become even more prominent currently in light of two fairly recent tendencies. First, the rise of digital markets, in which personal data is a key asset, means that what was initially a relatively marginal consideration has now been brought to the forefront. Secondly, a paradigm shift has been taking place within the international competition policy community, and it has put forward a renewed and evolving understanding of the proper goals of the field, traditionally focused on market efficiency and consumer welfare in terms of price and output, but now increasingly considering broader socio-economic factors. Privacy as an issue of competition harm attracted intense debate mainly focusing on mergers of data prone industries. The surge in the importance of data in multiple markets shifted concerns towards the requirement of data privacy and consideration of privacy as a fundamental element of fair market competition. At the same time, the clash between data privacy and competition enforcement in mergers in the digital sector has been significantly intensifying, and the elevation of privacy in mergers as a non-pricing parameter is already prevalent.

Keywords: Data privacy; GDPR; Behavioural remedies; Non-price considerations (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2025
ISBN: 9781802202328
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