How Competition Law Should React in the Age of Big Data and Artificial Intelligence

• Date: 01 September 2019
• Published date: 01 September 2019
• DOI: 10.1177/0003603X19863591
• Subject Matter: Articles

Article

How Competition Law Should

React in the Age of Big Data

and Artificial Intelligence

Shuya Hayashi* and Koki Arai**

Abstract

Information and communication technology (ICT) is evolving at an accelerating pace. Competition law

and policy aim to secure an active competition process in the market in order to protect customers in

their own countries, regardless of the nationality of the actors, including the ICT industry. As the

platforms become more oligopolistic, the Japanese government has established a data portability that

enables users to transfer from any specific platform, at any time, to open up an environment where

new platform-type businesses are created one after another and where active competition is carried

out. In this policy discussion, it is necessary to seek methods that include realistic international

cooperation that is not subject to regulation or intervention-oriented measures. In addition, discussion

based on economic empirical analysis is particularly needed. From the viewpoints of ensuring inno-

vative research and development (R&D) concerning artificial intelligence (AI) and fair competition

generally, the way of the Governance of AI Networking should be a nonregulatory and a nonbinding

way, taking technical features and responsibility distribution among stakeholders (developers, provi-

ders, end users, and third parties) into account.

Keywords

competition policy, information and communication technology, Japan

I. IoT, Big Data, AI, and Antitrust Law

Information and communication technology (ICT) is evolving at an accelerating pace. In 2045, the

computer’s processing ability is expected to exceed that of humans, reaching a transition where the

leading role in technological development and evolution shifts from human to computer. Also, due to

the advances in various sensing technologies, including the Internet of Things (IoT) and human

information connections, an ever-extending (if not infinite) variety of information is being collected

and used. We have already begun to benefit from these technologies through big data, artificial

intelligence (AI), robotics, and more; however, these are only the beginnings. A world that has been

*The Applied Social System Institute of Asia, Graduate School of Law, Nagoya University, Nagoya, Aichi, Japan

**Faculty of Management and Administration, Shumei University, Yachiyo, Chiba, Japan

Corresponding Author:

Koki Arai, Faculty of Management and Administration, Shumei University, 1 -1 Daigaku-cho, Yachiyo, Chiba 276-0003, Japan.

Email: koki.arai@nifty.ne.jp

The Antitrust Bulletin

2019, Vol. 64(3) 447-456

ªThe Author(s) 2019

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DOI: 10.1177/0003603X19863591

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