Reciprocal interplay between competition law and privacy in the digital revolution

Personal data is not only subject to exclusive rights that may generate significant economic benefits, an inalienable right that is closely linked to personal privacy, but also a means of governance that affects the behavior of market players. As a rule of market governance, personal data protection seeks the balance between economic interests and individual rights precisely in these differences of their sensitivity. This research project will be following the reflections and impacts of the data protection regulation on competition dynamics in the EU and other countries, especially the impacts of data privacy on the consolidation of market dominance and SMEs. Due to the reciprocal interplay between competition law and privacy, personal data protection is also affected by competition law. Therefore, the other important research objective is to sketch the mechanism of how competition law can have an impact on data privacy.