Acta Universitatis Carolinae Iuridica (AUC Iuridica) is a legal journal published since 1955, which presents longer essays as well as short articles on topics relevant for legal theory and international, European and Czech law. It also publishes works concerning current legislative problems.
Although intended primarily for domestic audience, AUC Iuridica is useful also for foreign experts, who can take advantage of summaries in foreign languages (English, German and French) and key words, which are systematically added to the main articles and essays.
The published articles are subject to peer reviews. If necessary, reviewed texts are sent back to the author for revision.
AUC Iuridica accepts contributions from any contributor on any current legal topic.
The journal is registered in the Czech National Bibliography (kept by the National Library of the Czech Republic) and in the Index to Foreign Legal Periodicals (kept by the American Association of Law Libraries).
The journal is archived in Portico.
–––
We are pleased to inform you that the journal Acta Universitatis Carolinae Iuridica was the first journal of the Faculty of Law of Charles University to be included in the prestigious international database SCOPUS. This Elsevier database is the largest abstract and citation database of peer-reviewed literature in the world. The editors of the journal expect from the inclusion in the elite SCOPUS database not only an increase in the readership of the journal, but also an increase in interest in the publication of papers by both Czech and foreign authors.
AUC IURIDICA, Vol 69 No 2 (2023), 71–82
The Interplay Between the Essential Facility Doctrine and the Digital Markets Act: Implications to Big Data
Ana Poščić, Adrijana Martinović
DOI: https://doi.org/10.14712/23366478.2023.15
published online: 07. 06. 2023
abstract
Today many companies are collecting and extracting data from different sources to help them with their strategic decision-making. Big data is the basis of data-driven economy, bringing significant competitive advantage and market power to companies who are able to harness and exploit its potential. Digital transformation of markets and economy challenges the existing structures of consumer protection, data protection and competition law. Data is a commodity as well as a strategic asset. The term Big data refers to the amount of data that cannot be processed in a short time by traditional informatics devices. Undertakings possessing a large scale of different data have a competitive advantage. Possible application of the essential facility doctrine to Big data issues has not attracted much attention in competition assessment. This paper will try to fill the gap by providing some insights into competition and data issues. Also, the question whether data can be considered under the essential facility doctrine will be analysed. Furthermore, it will be shown that essential facility criteria are applicable, although there is room for some adjustments to data markets. The last part of the paper will scrutinize the Digital Markets Act that tries to shed some light and clear some possible problematic behaviour of the so-called gatekeepers. The regulation leaves the conventional approach and shortens the process of tackling possible anti-competition concerns. It regulates only those undertakings that have significant impact on market and the possibility to become an important gateway in the future. When the status of a gatekeeper is established in accordance with all prescribed criteria, there will be no need to show that the elements of the essential facility doctrine are fulfilled. The essential facility doctrine will still be relevant to undertakings that are not designated as gatekeepers.
keywords: Big data; EU competition law; essential facility doctrine; Digital Markets Act; gatekeeper
references (23)
1. CJEU, C-7/97, Oscar Bronner GmbH & Co. KG v. Mediaprint Zeitungs- und Zeitschriftenverlag GmbH & Co. KG, Mediaprint Zeitungsvertriebsgesellschaft mbH & Co. KG and Mediaprint Anzeigengesellschaft mbH & Co. KG, ECLI: EU:C:1998:569.
2. CHIRITA, A. D. The Rise of Big Data and the Loss of Privacy. In: BAKHOUM, M. et al. (eds.). Personal Data in Competition, Consumer Protection and Intellectual Property Law. MPI Studies on Intellectual and Competition Law, Vol. 28. Cham: Springer, 2018, pp. 153-189. CrossRef
3. Commission Decision of 21 December 1993 relating to a proceeding pursuant to Article 86 of the EC Treaty (IV/34.689 - Sea Containers v. Stena Sealink - Interim measures). Official Journal of the European Union. L 015, 18/01/1994, pp. 0008-0019.
4. Commission decision of 22 June 2011 relating to a proceeding under Article 102 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union (TFEU) (COMP/39.525 - Telekomunikacja Polska).
5. DACAR, R. Is the Essential Facilities Doctrine Fit for Access to Data Cases? CYELP. 2022, Vol. 18, No. 1, pp. 61-81. CrossRef
6. GALLO CURCIO, M. Big data, abuse of dominance and the enforcement of article 102 TFEU in digital markets: the Google Cases [Bachelor's Degree Thesis]. Roma: Luiss Guido Carli, 2020. In: Luiss Biblioteca: LuissThesis [online]. [cit. 2022-02-24]. Available at: http://tesi.luiss.it/27445/.
7. GAMBARO, M. Big Data Competition and Market Power. Market and Competition Law Review. 2018, Vol. 2, No. 2, pp. 99-122. CrossRef
8. GRAEF, I. Rethinking the Essential Facilities Doctrine for the EU Digital Economy. TILEC Discussion Paper [online]. 2019, No. DP2019-028, p. 1 [cit. 2022-02-24]. Available at: https://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=3371457.
9. INGLESE, M. Regulating the Collaborative Economy in the European Union Digital Single Market. Cham: Springer, 2019. CrossRef
10. KOMNINOS, A. The digital Markets Act and Private Enforcement: Proposals for an Optimal System of Enforcement. In: CHARBIT, N. - GACHOT, S. (eds.). Eleanor M. Fox: Antitrust Ambassador to the World: Liber Amicorum [online]. New York: Institute of Competition Law, 2021, pp. 425-444 [cit. 2022-02-24]. Available at: https://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=3914932.
11. MANDRESCU, D. Online platforms and the essential facility doctrine - a status update following Slovak Telekom and the DMA. In: lexxion: The Legal Publisher [online]. 6.4.2021 [cit. 2022-02-24]. Available at: https://www.lexxion.eu/en/coreblogpost/online-platforms-and-the-essential-facility-doctrine-a-status-update-following-slovak-telekom-and-the-dma/.
12. Opinion of Advocate General Jacobs on Case C-7/97 Oscar Bronner, 28.5.1998, ECLI:EU:C:1998:264.
13. PODSZUN, R. - BONGARTZ, P. - LANGENSTEIN, S. The Digital Markets Act: Moving from Competition Law to Regulation for Large Gatekeepers. EuCML. 2021, Vol. 7, No. 2, pp. 60-67.
14. POŠĆIĆ, A. - MARTINOVIĆ, A. Rethinking Effects of Innovation in Competition in the Era of New Digital Technologies. InterEuLawEast. 2020, Vol. VII, No. 2, pp. 245-261. CrossRef
15. Regulation (EU) 2022/1925 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 14 September 2022 on contestable and fair markets in the digital sector and amending Directives (EU) 2019/1937 and (EU) 2020/1828 (Digital Markets Act). Official Journal of the European Union. L 265. 12.10.2022.
16. RENDA, A. Can the EU Digital Markets Act Achieve its Goals? [online]. The Digital Revolution and the New Social Contract series. Centre for the Governance of Change, IE University, 2022 [cit. 2023-02-24]. Available at: https://www.ie.edu/cgc/news-and-events/news/new-policy-paper-eu-digital-markets-act-achieve-goals/.
17. Report from the Commission to the Council and the European Parliament: Final report on the E-commerce Sector Inquiry, Brussels, 10.5.2017, COM(2017) 229 final.
18. ROBERTSON, V. Antitrust Law and Digital Markets: a Guide to the European Competition Law Experience in the Digital Economy. In: KURZ, H. D. - SCHÜTZ, M. - STROHMAIER, R. - ZILIAN, S. S. (eds.). The Routledge Handbook of Smart Technologies: an Economic and Social Perspective [online]. New York: Routledge, 2022, Chapter 21, p. 3 [cit. 2022-02-24]. Available at: https://ssrn.com/abstract=3631002.
19. STUCKE, M. E. - GRUNES, A. P. Big Data and Competiton Policy. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2016.
20. T-201/04, Microsoft Corp. v. Commission of the European Communities, ECLI:EU:T:2007:289.
21. T-851/14, Slovak Telekom, a.s. v. European Commission, ECLI:EU:T:2018:929.
22. Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union (consolidated version 2016). Official Journal of the European Union. C 202, 7.6.2020.
23. WHISH, R. - BAILEY, D. Competition Law. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2018. CrossRef
The Interplay Between the Essential Facility Doctrine and the Digital Markets Act: Implications to Big Data is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.
230 x 157 mm
periodicity: 4 x per year
print price: 65 czk
ISSN: 0323-0619
E-ISSN: 2336-6478
