This is Not an Article on Data Protection and Competition Law

Privacy, data protection, and competition law originate from the same creative energy. They concern the protection of those realms allowing human beings to meaningfully exercise their rights and freedoms. The FCO’s decision on Facebook marks an important step in looking at data protection as a benchmark for competition enforcement. The osmosis of policy goals mean that authorities are keen to adjust their tools to reality and modernize their response to a world in continuous transition. However, the analysis should move on from being only focused on data, as much more is at stake in the digital ecosystem. The “holy grail” of tech giants brokerage is our entire existence, which leads to legitimate concerns of a possible vulnus to our democracies at large. Authorities should accelerate their cooperation and mutual support in order to effectively guarantee freedoms and rights of people living the digital age.