Big data and antitrust law

The need for regulatory intervention on data processing technologies

Abstract

This work aims to answer the following question: do technologies known as “big data analytics” demand the intervention of the competition law? Thus, this article establishes a distinction between the big data and data processing technologies. Although part of the doctrine do not relate the competition law to big data, given to the broadness of the concept, the article seeks to demonstrate that it is highly plausible to cogitate the interference of competition law in the emergent technologies which goal consist in data processing. As follows, in the first moment, the basic concepts inherent to the term “big data” will be explored, as well as the apparent inadequacy of the competition law in face of big data technology. In a second moment, the potential impact of the emergent technologies focused on processing data currently in perspective will be analyzed as well. Eventually, the article intends to demonstrate the intersection between the competition law and the technologies of data processing.