There has been a growing concern in regards to exploitative and abusive conducts by tech giants in the digital markets. The overlap between Big Data and Competition Law has bought into sight the concerns regarding the commercial value of such data, which has compelled the competition regulatory authorities around the world to take a proactive approach towards developing a holistic understanding of privacy concerns arising out of Data-Driven mergers. However, alternatively, there have been voices of concerns who argue that the impact of such technological innovation might turn out to be catastrophic from the point of view of competition and consumer welfare in the longer run. Needless to say, there is a huge upside potential of the interplay of business and access to data. In the current business sphere ‘Big Data’, distinguished by its volume, freshness, variety, and accuracy has been recognised as a core economic asset responsible for not only giving the firms a competitive edge over their rivals but also increasing the quality of the products being provided to the consumers.įor instance, MNCs such as Facebook and Google are reaping benefits from their huge repository of high-value personal data, which has not only enabled them to provide better quality services to their customers through targeted advertising but has also positioned them as a dominant player in their respective sectors.

The erstwhile practice of building up physical assets to highlight economic prowess has been replaced by a more subtle mechanism of increasing access to the personal data of the consumers. The market landscape has drastically been altered with the rise of platform-based business models setting in motion a new wave of capitalism transforming the erstwhile relationship between consumers and businesses.

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