Mapping the Interactions: Status Quo

Abstract

Abstract This chapter illustrates that the multitude of ways in which data protection and competition law cohere on a broader normative level, and on the level of specific empirical challenges posed by digital markets, is barely mirrored in the regulatory, enforcement, policy, and institutional approaches in the EU and beyond. It first sheds light on competition law by scrutinizing the extensive policy discourse related to digital competition: it explores how competition law’s substantive boundaries are tested through enforcement and investigates the contribution of new policy and regulatory initiatives, such as the EU Digital Markets Act, in fostering a synergetic approach towards data protection and competition. Turning subsequently to data protection law’s repercussions for competition, the chapter posits that it is an effectively enforced rather than a weakened data protection regime that can best complement competition law. Under-enforcement of data protection and a fragmented data protection legal landscape in Europe therefore also present concerns for market competitiveness. The chapter additionally explores how agnostic or supportive data protection law actually is in terms of market competitiveness. Reflecting on an institutional dimension, it shows that enormous progress still needs to be made before dialogue and enforcement collaboration between data protection and competition authorities take the desired shape.