Policy Brief #2018/04: The data-driven power of Google and co. A risk to competition?

Summary:

Is data really the new oil? Some say that access to this basic commodity is decisive for the success and failure of entire business models in the digital markets. Would an obligation to share data with competitors be an adequate means of ensuring fair competition in these markets?

There are reasons to create a legally an-chored obligation to share exclusive data deemed essential to the preservation of competition. An obligation of this nature provides competitors to the superstar firms opportunities to train their own algorithms and thus preserve their competitive prospects. The institution of property rights, as a cornerstone of market economies, should be interfered with only when driven by a strong public interest. In the case of data-sharing for fair competition, the public interest is clear.