Abstract
The European Commission’s decision to authorise Microsoft’s acquisition of LinkedIn raises a number of stimulating issues that are likely to be featured in future merger reviews involving digital markets.
In examining the merger, the Commission considered big data and privacy-related concerns in professional social networks. In giving the merger the (conditional) green light, the Commission appears to have attained a balanced result. Its investigation of the potential anti-competitive effects of big data echoes the Commission’s previous decision-making practice as it reaffirms the "bundling" theory of harm. Its analysis also stresses the relevance of data privacy as a parameter of competition. The case is, therefore, an excellent opportunity to further develop the analytical framework for the competition law assessment of mergers in the information technology sector.
Full PaperRiccardo Tremolada
Research Associate
Since March 2013, Riccardo has been a Research Associate at gLAWcal – Global Law Initiatives for Sustainable Development. Riccardo works as an Associate at Cleary Gottlieb Steen & Hamilton LLP. He joined the firm in Rome in 2013 and was resident in the Milan office in 2017 and in the Washington D.C. office in 2018.
Summary
The European Commission’s decision to authorise Microsoft’s acquisition of LinkedIn raises a number of stimulating issues that are likely to be featured in future merger reviews involving digital markets.
In examining the merger, the Commission considered big data and privacy-related concerns in professional social networks. In giving the merger the (conditional) green light, the Commission appears to have attained a balanced result. Its investigation of the potential anti-competitive effects of big data echoes the Commission’s previous decision-making practice as it reaffirms the "bundling" theory of harm. Its analysis also stresses the relevance of data privacy as a parameter of competition. The case is, therefore, an excellent opportunity to further develop the analytical framework for the competition law assessment of mergers in the information technology sector.
