The era of digitization is one of many promises, but it is also defined by a certain anxiety and by our search for immediate, superficial, and effortless solutions to different problems. It is an era where we have been tempted to second-guess the established consensus, to skip steps and do away with previous rules and precedents. The law, in this era, is often seen as a tool to effect changes, but also as an inconvenient obstacle to easy fixes. This context may help explain many current debates, including the ongoing re-thinking of competition law and policy. This contribution offers critical comments on some of the premises underlying this recent thinking, focusing primarily on the Special Advisers’ Report “Competition Policy for the Digital Era.”
