Project Title: Reciprocal interplay between competition law and privacy in the digital revolution

Objectives: Data are more and more important resources in the so-called Digital Revolution. The review of the process of data generation reveals that personal data are the basis for other data. Whether the data are synthesized by simulation or created by analysis, the raw materials are the personal data produced by the individual user. Personal data is not only a resource that may generate significant economic benefits, an inalienable right that is closely linked to personal privacy, but also a means of governance that affects the behavior of market players. As a rule of market governance, personal data protection seeks the balance between economic interests and individual rights precisely in these differences of their sensitivity. This research will be following the reflections and impacts of the data protection regulation on competition dynamics in the EU and other countries, especially the impacts of data privacy, portability, and interoperability on the consolidation of market dominance and SMEs. Due to the reciprocal interplay between competition law and privacy, personal data protection is also affected by competition law. Therefore, the other important research objective is to sketch the mechanism of how competition law can have an impact on data privacy.