As potential antitrust issues related to big data and big tech gain more attention, the UK Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) has expressed concern that major platforms such as Google are protected from competition by incumbency advantages, due, in part, to their control over substantial amounts of data. In “Access to big data as a remedy in big tech,” published in the Competition Law Journal, Analysis Group Managing Principal Joshua White, Vice President Nick Dadson and Manager Iain Snoddy examine whether Google’s ability to control access to its click-and-query data is a barrier to effective competition. Click-and-query data contain information on what users search for and how they interact with the search engine results.
In the article, the authors discuss criteria from EU jurisprudence for determining whether data are an essential facility; actual and potential alternatives to Google’s data that are available to competitors; and objective reasons Google might limit access to its data, including privacy concerns. Ultimately, the authors conclude that Google Search click-and-query data are unlikely to be an essential facility, detailing both reasonable alternatives and obstacles to direct access.
Associated People
Joshua White
Mr White is a consulting and testifying economist who specialises in applying microeconomics and sophisticated econometric modelling to complex litigation and merger-related questions, primarily in matters involving the health care, financial services and technology industries. He has supported clients in various jurisdictions and industries in follow-on competition damages litigation, assessing overcharge, upstream and downstream pass-on and volume effects. He has served as a testifying expert in the UK Upper Tribunal (Lands Chamber), the UK Competition Appeal Tribunal and the Amsterdam District Court on competition cases.
Mr White has supported high-profile companies with complex merger reviews across multiple jurisdictions, including in the Veolia/Suez, LVMH/Tiffany, Sika/MBCC and Eutelsat/OneWeb mergers. He has also provided evidence to the UK’s Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) and the European Commission (EC), including on behalf of clients involved in cartel investigations, abuse of dominance investigations and mergers. Mr White has also provided support to European financial and competition regulators in coordinated conduct investigations.
Mr White has extensive experience addressing competition and intellectual property (IP) issues in matters related to cutting-edge pharmaceutical products and FRAND licensing questions. As part of this work, he has supported a number of scientific and technical experts in front of courts and regulatory bodies. He also regularly supports pharmaceutical clients on competition issues around market access, pricing, denigration and competition from generic manufacturers.
Mr White has worked in a number of jurisdictions, including the UK, the European Union, Switzerland, Australia, New Zealand, South Africa, Canada, Japan, Korea, the Netherlands, Belgium and the US. His writing has been published in an array of journals, including the Journal of European Competition Law & Practice, the Competition Law Journal and the Journal of Antitrust Enforcement, and he regularly speaks at international competition law and policy conferences.