Competition authorities in Europe and beyond have started to rely on data science to monitor markets and to check compliance with the applicable rules. The Digital Markets Act and the Digital Services Act have made the use of data science among regulators even more relevant considering the scale and complexity of the monitoring that is required.

In work done for the expert group to the EU Observatory on the Online Platform Economy, “Charting a Way Forward for the Use of Data Science in Competition Enforcement and Platform Regulation” (joint with Inge Graef and Ulrich Laitenberger), we study the range of data science tools that is already available to competition authorities and other regulators. We reflect on the promises and challenges of the future uptake of data science tools and discuss how data science expertise can be integrated into regulatory agencies. The existing use of data science shows that regulators are capable of adjusting their organizations and processes to reap the potential of employing technology tools in their activities. At the same time, the future uptake of data science comes with challenges relating to the reliability of data and the privacy of individuals. Beyond involvement in specific investigations, data science also carries the potential of reforming the work of regulators by moving towards a more proactive form of enforcement. Exchanging data science expertise and tools across regulators deserves to be further facilitated to increase collaboration and share resources.

The paper will be published soon in the European Competition Journal.