Author
Mr Mateusz Zbieg
Organisation/Institution
University Of Rzeszów, Faculty of Law and Administration
Country
POLAND
Panel
Competition Law
Title
Harmonizing Regulatory Regimes for Sustainable Digital Markets: A Comparative Analysis of the EU's Intersection of Antitrust and Data Privacy
Abstract
The rapid expansion of the data-driven economy challenges the traditional silos of legal disciplines, threatening the sustainable development of digital markets. This paper posits, using a comparative law methodology, that the sustainability and justice of digital markets rely on acknowledging the interplay between competition law and data protection regimes. Utilizing the European Union’s doctrinal evolution as "legal knowledge," this research examines how the integration of these fields prevents market foreclosure and exploitative practices by dominant undertakings. The analysis critically evaluates two pivotal judgments of the Court of Justice of the European Union: Case C-311/18 (Schrems II) [1] and Case C-252/21 (Meta Platforms v Bundeskartellamt).[2] Firstly, the paper analyzes the Meta Platforms judgment as a precedent for regulatory convergence, empowering competition authorities to treat data protection breaches as evidence of exploitative abuse (Art. 102 TFEU[3]), thereby enhancing market justice. Secondly, it argues that the stringent data transfer protocols established in Schrems II, while necessary for privacy, inadvertently generate high compliance costs that may entrench market dominance. This threatens the sustainability of competitive structures by creating barriers to entry. The paper concludes that this EU jurisprudence offers a critical framework for “Empowering Asia’s Rise” in the digital sphere. It suggests that adopting a holistic approach where data privacy is treated as a parameter of quality competition is essential for fostering innovation and ensuring equitable market access as Asian nations build their own integrated digital single markets. [1] Judgment of the Court (Grand Chamber) of 16 July 2020, Data Protection Commissioner v Facebook Ireland Ltd and Maximillian Schrems, C-311/18, ECLI:EU:C:2020:559. [2] Judgment of the Court (Grand Chamber) of 4 July 2023, Meta Platforms Inc. and Others v Bundeskartellamt, C-252/21, ECLI:EU:C:2023:537. [3] Consolidated version of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union (OJ C 202, 7.6.2016, p. 47).
Biography
Mateusz Zbieg Final Year Law Student and Ph.D. Candidate Faculty of Law and Administration, University of Rzeszów, Poland My research focuses on the intersection of competition law, data protection (GDPR in EU), and the regulation of digital markets. I employ a comparative law perspective to analyze the 'Brussels Effect' and the extraterritorial impact of EU digital regulation and its legal implications for emerging digital economies, particularly in the ASEAN region and South Asia. My current work examines the challenges of regulatory convergence, focusing on how competition authorities (like the CCI in India or the KPPU in Indonesia) are adapting to police data-driven abuses of dominance in the post-Meta Platforms era.
