KONKURENCIJOS TEISĖS UNIVERSALUMAS NAGRINĖJANT SU DUOMENŲ APSAUGOS PAŽEIDIMAIS SUSIJUSIUS NESĄŽININGOS KONKURENCIJOS ATVEJUS

Abstract

In the digital economy, with data being one of the main criteria for competitive advantage, supervisory authorities are faced with the challenge of ensuring the effective protection of goods protected by different branches of law. Recent practice shows that the same or substantially similar infringements are viewed and assessed differently by supervisory authorities, some of which tend to find that data protection infringements per se imply anticompetitive behavior by legal entities, while others find infringements in the area of privacy or consumer protection. In merger cases, the European Commission has generally taken the consistent position that data protection and competition law are two distinct areas of law, each governed by different legislation, the supervision of which is entrusted to different authorities. This divergence is due to the fact that there are no universal rules. Even though there is as yet no universal framework to address data protection infringements that undermine fair competition, the article analyses whether the current legal framework is sufficient to address data protection and competition law infringements.