Connected Cars And Autonomous Driving—EU Antitrust Challenges (Part II)

In Short

The Background: The automotive industry has achieved a number of technological advances aimed at developing connected cars, automated vehicles, and ultimately autonomous driving. These innovations are expected to pose a series of legal challenges, including those related to competition law.

The Issue: Smart cars will collect, process, and store huge amounts of data. Holding or having access to that data can drive new multi-sided and platform business models and also, it could be argued by competition authorities, lead to market power. Part II of this series looks at platform regulation and access to data. Part I dealt with standards and FRAND licensing terms.

Looking Ahead: Antitrust rules on platform regulation and access to data must not impede innovation and new business models but also must ensure a level playing field. Business needs to navigate the emerging landscape of antitrust enforcement with sometimes diverging enforcement priorities