Data-driven mergers a call for further integration of dynamic effects into competition analysis
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This article assesses the increasing concentration of data-driven platforms, and argues that a dynamic analysis is better equipped to address challenges stemming from data-driven merges in the digital markets. It first analysis the intersection between big data, entry barriers and innovation. Secondly, it presents the legal and economic implications of considering trends and future market conditions into the merger review. Finally, by revisiting the European Commission approval of the Facebook/WhatsApp merger, this article considers the need for defining a market for data, the possibility of eliminating a potential competitor, the incentives to tip a connected market and to reduce quality in terms of privacy degradation.
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