The 4th Annual Data Privacy Conference USA will take place in Washington D.C. on September 14th 2022 and gather thought leaders, legislators, the public and private sectors, and civil society representatives to discuss the most topical and timely issues relating Data Privacy in the US.
This event will take place in-person only. Registration is now open and free for all attendees.
Session 2: Privacy and Competition: a complex interplay
Time: 11:00 AM – 12:10 PM
The collection and use of personal data are at the core of business models and innovation in today’s data economy. However, in the absence of federal data privacy rules and of common transparency requirements, individuals have limited control as to how their data is collected, used and shared. As the data explosion has largely benefited and been driven by the private sector, momentum is growing for a deeper analysis which would aim to address the emerging questions around competition, market dominance and enabling innovation to flourish.
This session will explore the complex convergence between the data privacy and competition regulatory spheres, their overlapping objectives, where these regulatory areas complement each other, and what tensions exist. It will discuss the extent to which these issues are appropriately addressed by President Biden’s Executive Order “Promoting Competition in the American Economy” from July 2021 directing the FTC to start a rulemaking process to strengthen consumers’ data privacy, by the various bills being introduced by Congress, and by industry players who continue to take further action to self-regulate by rolling out privacy-focused changes to their services.
Possible questions:
- What specific challenges does data privacy create in the context of competition and antitrust?
- To which extent well-enforced federal data protection rules could create a level playing field with regards to data collection and access? If a federal privacy law were not to be enacted in the coming years, to what extent could data protection issues be dealt with through antitrust? Is a “cross-disciplinary” approach an appropriate way to address privacy harms?
- What role can ‘Purpose Limitation’ or the implementation of a specific ‘Legal Basis’ for data use could have in addressing the powerful advantage that a handful of companies have gained from combining and cross-using individuals’ data?
- What would ‘putting users in control of their data’ concretely look like?
- How can it be ensured that self-regulatory measures being developed by industry players does not lead to more anti-competitive issues?
- What is required to create a framework that does not stunt the growth of smaller businesses given the diversity of companies making up the current digital ecosystem?
- With the focus being mainly directed at Tech giants, how can it be ensured that smaller and non-monopolistic firms that also conduct aggregation of personal information (data brokers, AdTech) are also being considered while avoiding a one-size-fits all approach?
- What is the perspective of different stakeholders on ‘algorithmic destruction’ as a way to penalize companies for unfair and deceptive data practices?
Speakers:
- Sally Hubbard, Senior Counsel to the Assistant Attorney General, Department of Justice
- George Slover, General Counsel, & Senior Counsel for Competition Policy, Center for Democracy & Technology