UCL Laws hosts Bentham House Conference 2023 on competition law

On 26^th and 27^th April 2023, Dr Deni Mantzari (Associate Professor in Competition Law and Policy at UCL Laws) together with Dr Maria Ioannidou (Senior Lecturer in Competition Law at the School of Law, Queen Mary, University of London) organised the 2023 Bentham House Conference on the topic of ‘Competition Law and Policy in a Data-Driven Economy’.

The conference, which was opened by the Dean of UCL Laws, Professor Eloise Scotford, brought together academics, practitioners and policymakers working in the fields of law, economics but also computer science to reflect on and map the interface between data protection and competition law in order to suggest an analytical framework that can and ought to govern their interaction.

Participants who are also contributing to a Research Handbook on this issue (forthcoming by Edward Elgar in 2024) were invited to address the topic from different angles, considering both the positive and normative dimension of the competition law/data protection interface, to reimaging the interface or to stress any limits. This multidisciplinary investigation is currently lacking in the academic literature on the topic. From conceptual/theoretical underpinnings (panel 1) to substantive issues (panel 2), all the way to the workings of merger control (panel 3), remedies and the DMA (panel 4) and enforcement issues around the globe (panel 5), the organisers strove for inclusivity and offering a range of perspectives from academia, policy and practice. The conference was widely attended, and the discussions were rich and varied.

The conference is very timely in light of the UK CMA’s decision to block Microsoft’s acquisition of Activision and the UK’s Digital Markets, Competition and Consumer’s Bill, both released on the day of the conference.

View the full conference programme on the ‘Competition Law and Policy in a Data-Driven Economy’ event page.

Images

• Image 1: Panel on Key Substantive Issues, chaired by Joe Perkins
• Image 2: Panel on Theoretical Underpinnings, chaired by Dr Deni Mantzari
• Image 3: Panel on Remedies and the DMA, chaired by Dr Maria Ioannidou
• Image 4: Setting the Scene: A Discussion with the Regulators, Professor Ioannis Lianos in conversation with Will Hayter