DISTRUST & ANTITRUST: USING FACEBOOK TO UNDERSTAND COMPETITION LAW’S ROLE IN REGULATING DATA AND DATA PRIVACY CONCERNS AROUND THE WORLD
DISTRUST & ANTITRUST: USING FACEBOOK TO UNDERSTAND COMPETITION LAW’S ROLE IN REGULATING DATA AND DATA PRIVACY CONCERNS AROUND THE WORLD
Abstract: In the twenty-first century digital economy, more user data means more money, power, and dominance. Big tech companies like Facebook and Google have historically exploited user data to become the powerhouses they are today. Around the world, countries are trying to regulate these mega-companies using a common strategy: competition enforcement. Unfortunately, the United States is not as well equipped for this fight as the European Union and Germany. While the European Union and Germany have implemented laws that directly address data privacy and big tech competition, the United States is trying to address modern problems with a legal framework that dates back over a century. This Note argues that the proposed legislation in the United States House of Representatives and the Senate would successfully modernize United States antitrust law. The proposed bills borrow successful elements from European competition enforcement by directly addressing data privacy concerns and by changing the requirement that US antitrust enforcers must define a common relevant market to succeed in an antitrust action. The fight against big tech has just begun, and the United States needs the correct tools going forward.
Recommended Citation: Elyssa Diamond, Distrust & Antitrust: Using Facebook to Understand Competition Law’s Role in Regulating Data and Data Privacy Concerns Around the World, 45 Fordham Int'l L.J. 873 (2022).