EU competition and privacy regulators to prepare joint guidance on overlapping rules
EU competition and privacy regulators to prepare joint guidance on overlapping rules
https://eutoday.net/eu-competition-and-privacy-regulators-joint-guidance/
Publish Date: 2026-04-28 07:04:00
Source Domain: eutoday.net
107
Commission competition officials and the European Data Protection Board will begin work on guidance covering the interaction between EU competition law and data-protection rules, in a move intended to clarify how regulators should approach digital markets where market power and personal data are closely connected.
The European Commission’s competition services and the European Data Protection Board are to prepare joint guidance on the relationship between EU competition law and data-protection rules, after agreeing to begin work on the issue on 28 April.
The initiative was announced in a Commission competition-policy update, which said the guidance would address the interplay between EU competition law and the General Data Protection Regulation. The announcement follows increasing regulatory attention to digital markets, where the collection, control and use of personal data can affect both consumer protection and competition enforcement.
The guidance is expected to help competition authorities and data-protection regulators assess cases where market conduct and personal-data practices overlap. These may include situations involving dominant platforms, access to user data, data portability, online advertising, targeted services, digital ecosystems and contractual conditions linked to data use.
The move reflects a broader problem in EU digital regulation. Competition law and data-protection law have different legal bases, enforcement tools and policy objectives. Competition rules are concerned with market power, abuse of dominance, mergers and anti-competitive agreements. Data-protection law, in particular the GDPR, is concerned with the lawful processing of personal data, individual rights and obligations placed on controllers and processors.
In digital markets, however, the two areas often meet. A company’s ability to collect and combine large volumes of personal data may strengthen its market position. At the same time, restrictions imposed in the name of…
