European Union assessing the competitive value of data in merger control

This chapter examines how EU merger control should assess the competitive value of data beyond the general assertion that data is valuable, focusing on three theories of harm.

First, horizontal data mergers (rare in practice) involve direct competition between data sellers and can be assessed using conventional antitrust tools like market shares, as customer demand reveals dataset value. Second, vertical input foreclosure concerns arise when a merger could restrict rivals’ access to an important upstream data source; the analysis requires demonstrating that the data is genuinely important, alternatives are limited, and the merged entity has both the ability and incentive to foreclose (accounting for indirect benefits like platform effects), as illustrated in Google/Fitbit where concerns about restricting API access were resolved through commitments. 

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