Data at the Frontline: The Economic Theories of Data-Centric Antitrust Enforcement

Data is a strategic resource in the digital economy. The ability to rely on expansive, high-quality data sets has allowed firms not only to offer consumers cheaper and better products, but also to tailor their offerings to the needs of individual consumers. However, concerns have been raised that data can potentially also become an avenue to unfairly disadvantage rivals or a risk to consumer privacy. In this article, we examine the FTC’s and DOJ’s recent antitrust enforcement actions and inv