No Competition: Big Tech, Big Problems

This week we speak to competition expert Dr Deni Mantzari about competition, monopoly, and regulation. Are big tech companies monopolies? And if they are is that a problem?

Since we recorded this podcast there has been an update on the Microsoft Activision merger: https://www.theverge.com/2023/10/13/23796552/microsoft-activision-blizzard-cma-approval-uk

Links

• PI competition page (our "very influential work"): https://privacyinternational.org/learn/competition-and-data
• More about Dr Deni Mantzari: https://profiles.ucl.ac.uk/24171
• Ecosystems and competition law in theory and practice - a research paper about ecosystems: https://academic.oup.com/icc/article/30/5/1199/6428760
• Power Imbalances in Online Marketplaces: At the Crossroads of Competition Law and Regulation - one of Dr Deni's papers looking at peconomic dependence in online marketplaces: https://www.ucl.ac.uk/cles/sites/cles/files/cles_4_2021.pdf

• Google Android European court case on abuse of dominance: https://curia.europa.eu/juris/document/document.jsf?text=&docid=265421&doclang=en and more info here: https://curia.europa.eu/jcms/upload/docs/application/pdf/2022-09/cp220147en.pdf

• The Stigler Report: https://www.chicagobooth.edu/research/stigler/news-and-media/committee-on-digital-platforms-final-report
• The Furman Report: https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/media/5c88150ee5274a230219c35f/unlocking_digital_competition_furman_review_web.pdf
• German Facebook case: https://www.bundeskartellamt.de/SharedDocs/Meldung/EN/Pressemitteilungen/2019/07_02_2019_Facebook.html;jsessionid=202D25E3738EF7AB3AC859AD9C78C43C.2_cid371?nn=3591568
• Meta Data Protection fine: https://edpb.europa.eu/news/news/2023/12-billion-euro-fine-facebook-result-edpb-binding-decision_en
• The UK's Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) Roomba decision: https://www.gov.uk/cma-cases/amazon-slash-irobot-merger-inquiry and PI's submission to the inquiry: https://privacyinternational.org/advocacy/5071/submissions-uk-and-eu-competition-authorities-amazonirobot-merger
• The EU Digital Markets Act (DMA): https://commission.europa.eu/strategy-and-policy/priorities-2019-2024/europe-fit-digital-age/digital-markets-act-ensuring-fair-and-open-digital-markets_en
• The EU Data Act: https://www.europarl.europa.eu/doceo/document/TA-9-2023-0069_EN.pdf