Working paper: Antitrust and privacy aspects of mergers and acquisitions between third party trackers

///We may not want to include in the main buzz if this is too dry...

//Carolyn's attempt:

Acquisitions in the third party tracking industry: competition and data protection aspects

The merging of two data giants is cause for concern and scrutiny; when these mergers include the ability to combine datasets containing personal data about third parties, such as people that are not the direct customers of these companies, there is an additional reason for concern and for demanding that there be oversight, argue BKC affiliate Elettra Bietti and Reuben Binns in a working draft of a paper that addresses this issue and the role that antitrust authorities could play with regard to mergers and acquisitions in the third party tracking industry.

Image: https://pixabay.com/photo-1839406/

//From Elettra's description

When two data giants merge it is a cause for concern and scrutiny. When  such mergers include the ability to merge datasets containing personal  data about third parties, ie. people that are not the direct customers  of these companies, there is an additional reason for concern and for  demanding that there be oversight. My co-author Reuben Binns (in cc) and I have just put up a working draft  of a paper that addresses precisely this issue and the role that  antitrust authorities could play, and have so far failed to play, with  regard to mergers and acquisitions in the third party tracking industry. We combine an empirical methodology with a critical inquiry into some of  the existing case law on these issues in the US and EU to argue that a  bolder approach is needed - one that engages in a pluralist analysis of  economic and noneconomic concerns about concentrations of control over  data. We would love to hear your reactions and comments.////