Competition Law in the Digital Economy

Catalog description

The course explores the impact of digitalization on the application of competition law. On the one hand, competition has been tremendously intensified by the reduction of transaction costs, greater transparency and geographic market expansion. On the other hand, unprecedented economies of scale, network effects and control over big data create considerable barriers to entry and increase market power. Moreover, algorithms and artificial intelligence allow for new methods of coordinating market conduct with other players. Therefore, it does not come as a surprise that new competition law cases have emerged, including but not limited to the GAFAM platforms (Google-Alphabet, Apple, Facebook-Meta, Amazon and Microsoft). While the focus of the course is on European Union (EU) competition law, developments in US antitrust law will be considered comparatively. It will be shown that competition law – when adequately applied – does not stand in the way of innovation but has become indispensable for keeping markets dynamic, fair and open.