Digital Merger Watch: Data Privacy Brasil joins new global initiative

The Digital Merger Watch was launched on Monday (17) and has the participation of 16 national and international organizations. The project aims to track and analyze acquisitions that may threaten fair competition, fundamental rights, open markets, and democratic freedoms.

Big technology companies are shaping the digital world in ways that impact markets, affecting people both as consumers and citizens through their effects on prices, working conditions, democracy, and sovereignty. Through aggressive mergers and acquisitions, technology giants have expanded their dominance with little oversight. Therefore, the group emerges as an initiative that aims to analyze and challenge Big Tech’s efforts to reinforce its dominance through mergers and acquisitions.

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

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

Brazil is increasingly present in global discussions on the economic regulation of platforms and antitrust intervention. In January 2024, the Ministry of Finance opened the Subsidy Survey No. 01/2024 with the aim of obtaining contributions from society on the regulation of digital platforms in Brazil. Among the main points questioned by the Ministry, the need for changes to the Competition Defense Law was a prominent topic. The result of this consultation resulted in two important documents: the systematization of the subsidy survey and the Digital Platforms Report.

Through the observatory, it is expected that the voices of civil society that are often marginalized in political debates will be able to influence more spaces for debate on the topic. In addition to acting in the tracking of acquisitions that may threaten fair competition, fundamental rights, and democracy.

Continuing with the coordination work, from March 24 to 27, Data Privacy Brasil will participate in a planning meeting in Amsterdam to define the strategy of the Digital Mergers Observatory for the coming years. Data has participated in discussions on reforms to acquisition rules in France and acquisitions of AI companies by NVIDIA.

Together with partners from the Global South, the Observatory is expected to make more collective submissions and increase its capacity for critical reflection on competition law. In addition to our interaction with ANPD and CADE, we will closely monitor the proposals of the Ministry of Finance for the economic regulation of platforms, and we hope to be involved in a future bill in the National Congress in 2025.

Learn more about the observatory on its official website.