Regulating the Digital Economy

Are big tech platforms monopolies? Is data the “new oil” of the digital economy? What are the implications for privacy? Should antitrust law go beyond economic goals? This course examines these and other central questions at the heart of antitrust policy in the digital age. We will begin by reviewing the intellectual history of antitrust and the main legal and economic principles of current competition/antirust laws (prior knowledge is not required). We will then examine a set of cutting-edge legal issues related to competition in big tech sectors. The goal of the course is to examine whether technological and economic transformations require legal reforms and novel paradigms of antitrust policy for the digital era.