Data in The Digital Economy: The “Anti-Hero” of Antitrust or Just “Bad Reputation?”

Today, data are not a passive by-product of economic activity but can be used as an input in the production process and by firms to make other significant business decisions. While it is well documented that consumers have greatly benefitted from this emergence of data-driven business activity, the current antitrust debate around data focuses on whether the use of data by businesses can confer a competitive advantage that distorts fair competition and, in turn, reduces consumer welfare. We discu