December 14, 2021

The speakers in this panel discuss how competition law has, in the past assessed various privacy-related issues in enforcement activity. The panel further considers the changes that are being proposed to this traditional approach. Panelists also specifically examines how forced portability and sharing of data would comport with competition, on the one hand, and privacy values, on the other.

In this discussion the participants each brought their unique perspective to this timely and fascinating set of questions. Key to the discussion is whether certain matters relating to privacy regulation are best dealt with through ex ante regulation specifically tailored to that issue? And if so, to what extent should such regulations overlap with parallel antitrust rules?

This raises multivariate issues. To what extent do privacy rules raise barriers to entry? For example, would enhanced privacy protections inhibit antitrust remedies that might mandate data sharing between (actual or potential) competitors? Moreover, given the multinational nature of many of the tech platforms at issue in this debate, how can regulators ensure some form of consistent solution across the board?

The panelists discuss these and many other issues in an interchange that reflects the development of these debates over time and in recent months