Dear Readers,
Data protection has emerged as one of the key issues of the 21st Century. Two key pieces of legislation: the EU General Data Protection Regulation (“GDPR”), and the California Consumer Privacy Act (“CCPA”) are the keystones in the legislative response to the concerns raised by Big Data, in the so-called digital economy.
Of the two, the GDPR, put into full effect in mid-2018, represented the first blow on behalf of consumer privacy. It was intended to protect EU citizens, but its impact has already been worldwide. The GDPR by its very nature raises very distinct competition law concerns due to its far-reaching effects on issues such as data portability, and its particular effects on industries such as ad technology, investment incentives in technology markets, and myriad other issues.
The timely articles in this edition address these very topical issues, while at the same time drawing out contrasts between the GDPR and the CCPA, as sister pieces of legislation, and their differential effects on competition.
As always, thank you to our great panel of authors.
Sincerely,
CPI Team
