European Commission to map how large companies use big data

The EU will pay specific attention to how large companies in particular collect and use big data. According to Margrethe Vestager, European Commissioner for Competition, big data can provide companies with advantages that can be anti-competitive.

According to Vestager, big data is not bad in itself, but the commissioner wants to be sure that when assessing acquisitions and mergers, there are no practices that restrict competition because a party in the market does not have access to valuable information, so she said in an interview with the Wall Street Journal.

Some companies are able to market products more precisely and better than any rivals because of the wealth of data at their disposal, which according to Vestager can lead to an unequal battle when it comes to competition. She argues that big data is “extremely valuable” in some areas and thus could deliver disproportionate business benefits to certain companies.

Vestager did not mention any concrete steps or new competition laws that are in the works to more strictly control the use of big data by large companies. She said the EU has so far found no serious problems arising from the difference in access to and use of big data.

In theory, the European Commission could oblige companies that are going to merge to share certain data with the remaining competitors. It is not known whether the EU is actually considering introducing such measures.

US regulators have a different view. They are not in favor of, for example, an obligation to share data with competing companies. According to the US, big data has many advantages and therefore does not need to be strictly monitored. A risk of ‘punishing’ companies with a lot of big data can be that less innovation takes place, is the view in the US.