The Role of Data for Competition in Online Advertising

Data being the lubricant of any interest-based advertising, control over access to data has become a central competitive factor in the advertising business; and a focal point of several antitrust investigations. The dependence of data on the part of a publisher, an advertiser or an ad tech intermediary depends significantly on the advertising format in question. This article outlines the relevance of data for competition on the various sub-markets of online advertising and their respective signi