What role can competition law play when it is faced with democratic deficits in digital markets? In the twenty-first century, voter choice and the broader political debate are within the reach of those that can access and channel the vast streams of user data that are generated online. How digital platforms utilize personal user data to influence the outcome of democratic processes has become a central issue that liberal democracies must confront. In her recent paper, Vicky Robertson explores whether competition law has a role to play when it comes to addressing this intersection of Big Tech, data, and democracy. Should democratic values simply be reflected in the procedural set-up of antitrust law, or is there a role for democratic values in the substantive provisions as well? And if so, does antitrust law’s focus on keeping market power in check suffice to fulfill its role in a democratic society, or does this role require the law to specifically target antidemocratic market behavior as anticompetitive harm? In navigating these questions, her paper contributes to the ongoing debate on political antitrust and sets out an ambitious research agenda on how to carry this discussion forward. You can access the open access paper in The Antitrust Bulletin.
