Digital Platforms and Markets

Digital Merger Watch

Objective: Monitoring mergers and acquisitions in digital markets and proposing regulatory alternatives for economic deconcentration and guaranteeing fundamental rights.

Duration: July 2023 - July 2026

Status: Em Andamento

Supporter(s): SOMO

Description

The project, which brings together 16 national and international organisations, aims to monitor mergers and acquisitions in digital markets in different parts of the world, whether they are notifiable or not.

It is important to acknowledge that not all mergers and acquisitions are notified to the antitrust authority in their country. After all, for a notification to be mandatory, the transaction must meet a number of requirements, mostly quantitative. However, the Observatory recognises that digital markets may present unique complexities that do not always align with traditional antitrust analysis standards. It is therefore vital to carefully consider any transactions that have not been notified but may potentially impact fair competition, fundamental rights, open markets and democratic freedoms.

The Observatory will carry out studies that will serve as input for the social actors involved in the fight against the economic concentration of the large platforms. It is also hoped that the voices of civil society, which are often marginalized in political debates, will be able to influence more spaces for debate on the issue.

The Observatory will be based on three main pillars: coordination, monitoring and rapid response. The network will seek to provide a platform for members to meet, share information and coordinate responses to problematic M&A activity in digital markets.

The initiatives participating in the group are: Data Privacy Brasil; Article 19 Brazil, Article 19 Europe, Article 19 Mexico and Centroamérica; Balanced Economy Project; Canadian Anti-Monopoly Project; Center for Internet and Society; European Digital Rights; Foxglove; FGV Direito Rio; Gentium; Idec – Instituto de Defesa de Consumidores; IT for Change; Open Markets Institute; Privacy International; Rebalance Now; and SOMO.

Team

Rafael Zanatta Director

Bruno Bioni Director

Rafael Zanatta | Director

Data Privacy Brazil Research Association

Co-director of Data Privacy Brasil. He is a postdoctoral researcher at the Law School of the University of São Paulo (USP). He holds a PhD from the Institute of Energy and Environment of USP, with training at the Institute of Information Law of the University of Amsterdam. He has a Master's degree in Law and Political Economy from the University of Turin. He has a Master's degree in Philosophy and General Theory of Law from the Law School of USP. He holds a Bachelor's degree in Law from the State University of Maringá. He was a member of the Vulnera group at the Free University of Brussels and was a visiting researcher on platforms and digital economy at The New School. He edited the books “Sharing economies and law” (Juruá, 2017) and “Data, digital markets and competition” (Casa do Direito, 2022). He is the author of “Collective protection of personal data in Brazil: vectors of interpretation” (Letramento, 2023).

Bruno Bioni | Director

Data Privacy Teaching and Data Privacy Brasil Research Association

He holds a PhD in Commercial Law and a Master's in Civil Law from the Faculty of Law of the University of São Paulo (USP). In the academic field, he was a study visitor at the European Data Protection Board (EDPB) and the Department of Personal Data Protection of the Council of Europe (CoE), as well as a visiting researcher at the Research Center for Law, Technology and Society of the Faculty of Law of the University of Ottawa. He is the author of the books “Personal Data Protection: The Function and Limits of Consent” and “Regulation and Data Protection: The Principle of Accountability, as well as the organizer of several books, such as “Data Protection: Context, Narratives, and Founding Elements.” He was a member of the Federal Senate Commission of Jurists on Artificial Intelligence, of the Study Committee on Digital Integrity and Transparency on Internet Platforms of the Superior Electoral Court (TSE), and was co-chair of the Task Force focused on Inclusive Digital Transformation of T20. He is currently a member of the National Data Protection Council (CNPD), appointed as a member among representatives of civil society organizations, and a professor at ESPM and IDP-SP. He is the Founding Director of Data Privacy Brasil, a space where a school of courses and a research association in the area of privacy and data protection intersect.

Mariana Rielli Director

Carla Rodrigues Coordinator

Mariana Rielli | Director

Data Privacy Brazil Research Association

Co-director of Data Privacy Brasil. A lawyer with a degree from the University of São Paulo (USP), with training in social project management and public policies from SENAC-SP, she has worked in the third sector since 2014 with themes of human rights, digital justice, data protection and governance. She worked as a research and advocacy advisor at the Legal Reference Center of ARTICLE 19 Brasil, was a research consultant for the Alianza por la Libre Expresión e Información and has been a member of Data Privacy Brasil since March 2019. At Data, she was the leader of the Privacy and Data Protection Observatory project, project coordinator and institutional development coordinator. In July 2023, she took over as co-director of the organization. She is currently pursuing a master's degree in philosophy, with a focus on data and digital societies, at Tilburg University, the Netherlands.

Carla Rodrigues | Coordinator

Data Privacy Brazil Research Association

Master and PhD candidate in Communication and Contemporary Culture from the Federal University of Bahia (UFBA), graduated in Social Communication with a specialization in Public Relations from the University of Salvador (Unifacs) and in Social Work from UFBA. As a researcher, she is part of the group linked to the National Institute of Science and Technology in Digital Democracy (INCT.DD), the research group Communication, Internet and Democracy (CID/UFBA) and is a member of the Study, Research, and Extension Group on Public Communication, Social Assistance, and Social Work at the University of Brasília (Compass/UnB). She has experience in the intersection between communication, politics, and digital technologies, with a focus on research, strategic analysis, project development, data strategy and planning. At Data Privacy Brasil, she is the coordinator of Digital Platforms and Markets.

Eduardo Mendonça Researcher

Natasha Nóvoa Researcher

Eduardo Mendonça | Junior Researcher

[email protected]

Undergraduate in Law from the State University of Rio Grande do Norte (UERN). Participated in the Youth (CGI.br), Leaders 2.0 (LACNIC) and IDP Privacy Lab (CEDIS-IDP) programs. Research in the areas of Law and the Internet, with a focus on public policies, favelas and urban communities, Internet governance and artificial intelligence. Junior Researcher of Digital Platforms and Markets.

Natasha Nóvoa | Researcher

Specialist in Digital Security, Data Management, and Governance from the Pontifical Catholic University of Rio Grande do Sul (PUCRS). Graduated in law from the Federal University of Pará (UFPA). Member of the Research Group linked to CNPq "Consumption and Citizenship/Economic Globalization" (UFPA/CESUPA). She was part of the Youth Brazil (NIC.br) delegation at the World Internet Governance Forum (UN - IGF) in Saudi Arabia in 2024. She has a career developed in the area of digital law and competition law, having served at the Administrative Council for Economic Defense (CADE) for one year. During her undergraduate studies, she was a CNPq scholarship holder for three consecutive years in the area of digital law, as well as participated in academic exchanges at the Civil House of the Presidency of the Republic and at CADE. At Data is a researcher in the area of digital platforms and markets.