Platform Power and Privacy Protection: A Case for Policy Innovation

Abstract

Antitrust debates regarding competition in data-driven markets, particularly those dominated by digital platforms, have run headlong into issues of privacy. This was inevitable. At the heart of the platform business model is the collection and use, for commercial gain, of unfathomably large amounts of personal in-formation. Such information is the sine qua non of privacy concerns. Given their increasing power as information gate-keepers and intermediaries across swathes of the digital economy, it is barely surprising that platforms find themselves in the line of fire for modern-day privacy concerns.

Keywords: antitrust

JEL Classification: K21