Antitrust, Big Tech, and Democracy : A Research Agenda

In the 21st 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. The role of personal user data in digital markets, as well as the use that digital platforms make of that data in order to influence the outcome of democratic processes, have become central issues that liberal democracies must confront at the dawn of this new decade.The paper explores whether competition law has a role to play when it comes to addressing this intersection of Big Tech, data, and democracy. It first sets out the democratic roots of competition or antitrust law in the United States and the European Union. From these, the paper deduces that competition law cannot remain inactive when it comes to maintaining a democratic society in the face of the abilities of Big Tech to influence democratic processes and outcomes. The paper then goes a step further and asks what role competition law could play in this regard. 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 fulfil its role in a democratic society, or does this role require the law to specifically target anti-democratic market behaviour as anti-competitive harm?In navigating these questions, the paper contributes to the ongoing debate on political antitrust – which has been sparked by the big digital platforms’ influence on political outcomes – and sets out an ambitious research agenda on how to carry this discussion forward