Competition Law, Public Policy and Technology: A Complexity Perspective

The programme

This course will introduce the intricacies of competition law enforcement in a complex economy. It will introduce the major public policy issues that competition authorities around the world have grappled with, and these will be examined through several case studies. 

First, the course will explore the ways in which the law has evolved to consider the impact of new technologies on economic activity and tackle business practices such as mergers, unilateral conduct, and cooperative business practices, all of which raise competition concerns. Emphasis will be placed on the role of new parameters of competition, in addition to the traditional focus on prices and output, such as innovation, sustainability and privacy. We will draw on practice examples from different legal systems of competition law (EU, US, BRICS) on competition enforcement in these key areas: 

• Big Tech platforms and digital ecosystems
• Healthcare 
• Agritech sectors
• Creative industries; and 
• Other economic sectors

Second, the course will explore the current state of economic and public policy knowledge, the different views put forward and reflect on the intellectual underpinnings of policy assessments.

Third, the course introduces computational competition law and economics and explores its role in competition law enforcement. This is examined by presenting the various ways technology has been used and can be used to improve the accuracy and effectiveness of competition law enforcement.

This is not a traditional executive education course detailing recent developments in the law. The aim is to ensure a more pluralist perspective on competition law enforcement, by exposing participants’ to different perspectives and therefore enabling them to develop a critical understanding of the broader socio-economic context of competition law enforcement.

Our teaching team brings a wealth of experience from academia and practice, including as guest speakers former and actual competition authority officials, and economic and legal practitioners who have played an important role in handling or in consulting in key cases in major jurisdictions (US, EU, BRICS+).

Learning outcomes

Upon successful completion of this module, students will:

• Be able to critically analyse the existing principles, tools and methodologies of competition law enforcement and apply them to cases
• Develop an advanced knowledge of the various policy sciences implemented in the context of competition cases and engage with a pluralist perspective on competition law enforcement 
• Critically engage with the dynamic application of competition law to different technological settings, in particular digital ecosystems
• Develop knowledge on computational competition law and economics 
• Develop a critical understanding of the way the modern digital economy works and is regulated 

Content

Key topics

Day One

• State of play of competition law enforcement: the key issues of the past year  
• The law and economics of competition in digital ecosystems I
• Case studies on digital antitrust   
• The role of economics and economists in competition law enforcement   

Day Two

• The law and economics of competition in digital ecosystems II 
• Case studies on abuse of dominant position (exclusionary conduct)
• Big Data, AI and the new EU Digital regulation (DMA, DSA, Data Act, AI Act): interactions with competition law
• Evening Discussion: Major developments in the private enforcement of competition law (focus UK and the EU)

Day Three

• "Polycrisis" and competition law
• Sustainability concerns in competition law enforcement (focus on sustainability agreements)
• Competition law enforcement in Agriculture and Global Food Value Chains
• Case studies on anticompetitive conduct- focus on exploitative conduct
• Innovation concerns in merger control
• Evening Discussion: Judicial scrutiny of mergers and innovation theories of harm

Day Four

• Introduction to computational competition law and economics
• Competition law and policy in the era of AI
• Discussion: Integrating data science in competition law enforcement: principles, institutions and application (including evidence gathering and analysis)

Course structure and assessments

Delegates will receive four hours of lectures/ seminars each day. There will therefore be a total of 16 hours of classroom teaching over the four days. There will be no assessment but delegates will receive a certificate of completion provided that they attend at least 12 hours (75%) of classes.  

Teaching staff

• Professor Ioannis Lianos (Convener)
• Honorary Professor Dr Cristina Caffarra
• Associate Professor Dr Deni Mantzari
• Professor Dr Vassilis Vassalos
• Guest speaker Professor Michael Jacobides, London Business School 
• Other guest speakers from competition authorities, the judiciary and academia 

Fees

The fees for this course are £3250. We offer discounts* for the following:

• 20% discount for UCL students, staff and alumni
• 15% discount for delegates from non-commercial sectors 
• 15% discount to commercial organisations that send three or more delegates
• 15% discount for those currently not in work

*discounts can only be applied once if any of the above apply.