Back to the future: in search for a new paradigm for the identification of market power in the Big Data Sector

Abstract

The aim of this article is to re-consider the current status quo in relation to the interface between market power and the application of competition law to the Big Data market, with the view to suggesting possible alternative approaches.
In order to do so, we shall first assess the nature of the big data sector and its antitrust implications, with emphasis on the possible competition concerns arising from the individual or joint accumulation of large sets of data by undertakings operating within this market; emphasis will be placed on the assessment of market power in big data mergers and on abuses of dominant position in EU data driven markets, as well as on the Database Directive and the UK scenario.
The article will thereafter attempt to re-consider neoclassic competition theories such as market contestability and the notion of essential facility and their application to the big data industry. The aim is to understand the real nature of big data markets, to consider the current antitrust assessment methodology of market power and assess its suitability for the application of competition law to the Big Data industry.
Finally, an attempt to theorise a new paradigm for the antitrust evaluation of market power in the Big Data sector will be made, alongside with the development of new standards and new theories of harm as an alternative approach to the current regulatory regime.

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ORCID for Andrea Lista: orcid.org/0000-0002-4234-0914

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