Reflections on Consumer Trust and Competition in the Digitalized Economy

By Ania Thiemann & Sophie Flaherty

Recent work indicates that the current competition framework is flexible enough to be adapted to address the challenges arising from digitalization. Key features of the digital economy such as economies of scale and scope, network effects and the role of data, can provide significant advantages to incumbents and help market players gain, entrench, and exploit market power. The acquisition and use of data by digital platforms, for example, influences the com