Show Notes
This week we speak to competition expert Dr Deni Mantzari about competition, monopoly, and regulation. Are big tech companies monopolies? And if they are is that a problem?
Since we recorded this podcast there has been an update on the Microsoft Activision merger: https://www.theverge.com/2023/10/13/23796552/microsoft-activision-blizzard-cma-approval-uk
Links
PI competition page (our "very influential work"): https://privacyinternational.org/learn/competition-and-data
More about Dr Deni Mantzari: https://profiles.ucl.ac.uk/24171
Ecosystems and competition law in theory and practice - a research paper about ecosystems: https://academic.oup.com/icc/article/30/5/1199/6428760
Power Imbalances in Online Marketplaces: At the Crossroads of Competition Law and Regulation - one of Dr Deni's papers looking at peconomic dependence in online marketplaces: https://www.ucl.ac.uk/cles/sites/cles/files/cles_4_2021.pdf
Google Android European court case on abuse of dominance: https://curia.europa.eu/juris/document/document.jsf?text=&docid=265421&doclang=en and more info here: https://curia.europa.eu/jcms/upload/docs/application/pdf/2022-09/cp220147en.pdf
The Stigler Report: https://www.chicagobooth.edu/research/stigler/news-and-media/committee-on-digital-platforms-final-report
The Furman Report: https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/media/5c88150ee5274a230219c35f/unlocking_digital_competition_furman_review_web.pdf
German Facebook case: https://www.bundeskartellamt.de/SharedDocs/Meldung/EN/Pressemitteilungen/2019/07_02_2019_Facebook.html;jsessionid=202D25E3738EF7AB3AC859AD9C78C43C.2_cid371?nn=3591568
Meta Data Protection fine: https://edpb.europa.eu/news/news/2023/12-billion-euro-fine-facebook-result-edpb-binding-decision_en
The UK's Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) Roomba decision: https://www.gov.uk/cma-cases/amazon-slash-irobot-merger-inquiry and PI's submission to the inquiry: https://privacyinternational.org/advocacy/5071/submissions-uk-and-eu-competition-authorities-amazonirobot-merger
The EU Digital Markets Act (DMA): https://commission.europa.eu/strategy-and-policy/priorities-2019-2024/europe-fit-digital-age/digital-markets-act-ensuring-fair-and-open-digital-markets_en
The EU Data Act: https://www.europarl.europa.eu/doceo/document/TA-9-2023-0069_EN.pdf
More from Technology Pill
From Spiderman, to Toy Story, to One Night Only, this week we’re talking about some of the summers biggest and weirdest movies, as we think about the use of technology and surveillance in film. Links - Silicon valley has a science fiction problem: https://aeon.co/essays/silicon-valley-has-a-science-fiction-problem - One night only Guardian review: https://www.theguardian.com/film/2026/aug/05/one-night-only-movie-review NY Times review: https://www.nytimes.com/2026/08/05/movies/one-night-only-review.html
This week we're talking about how the militarisation of tech is shaping civic spaces and what 'dual use' technology actually means with Sophie from Corporate Watch.
This week we're talking to Marianne from SMEX about their new report looking at the differing dynamics of producing, testing, and deployment of militarised technology across the Southwest Asia and Northern African region (SWANA).
This week we're discussing borders, biometrics and more, as we take a look at what kind of surveillance you might experience if you're traveling to the World Cup, or to the EU schengen area. Acronyms - ETIAS: European Travel Information and Authorisation System (new for visa exempt; no biometrics - run by a central unit operated by frontex; this is where manual checks carried out if automated checks flag problems) - VIS: Visa information System (obvs for visas; age lowered to 6? - will soon check other systems) - EES: Entry/Exit system (biometrics on entry; records all border crossings) - CIR: Common Identity Repository (only non-eu citizens; weak anti-discrimination; identity info from visa and ta - data from other databases lives here and is used for purposes beyond travel e.g. police checks in country) - Eurodac: (all asylum seekers, and trying to add undocumented migrants) - ECRIS-TCN: European Criminal Records Information System for Third-Country Nationals (data on non-EU citizens convicted in one or more EU member state) - SIS: schengen information system (an EU database for police, judicial and border control/cooperation, to see whether they are wanted by the police or subject to an entry ban; checked on crossing external schengen border inc eu citizens) - MID: Multiple-Identity Detector - SLTED: Interpol’s Stolen and Lost Travel Documents database (checked on crossing external schengen border inc eu citizens)
This week we're joined by Bill Goodwin, investigations editor at Computer Weekly and award-winning journalist, to discuss Europol's secret shadow IT system — and what it tells us about how law enforcement agencies evade oversight. Links Computer Weekly investigation: https://www.computerweekly.com/news/366642525/They-protect-the-law-while-breaking-it-Inside-Europols-shadow-IT-system We Are Solomon: https://wearesolomon.com/en/mag/focus-area/accountability/they-protect-the-law-while-breaking-it-inside-europols-shadow-it-system/ Privacy International's 2019 FOI on Europol: https://privacyinternational.org/report/3225/challenging-drivers-surveillance-eu-access-documents-requests Spanish police and cryptophone intercepts: https://www.computerweekly.com/news/366643318/Spanish-police-systematically-hid-cryptophone-intercepts-from-courts-claims-ex-chief Bill's case Goodwin v United Kingdom: https://globalfreedomofexpression.columbia.edu/cases/goodwin-v-united-kingdom/ The Independent — Reporter's rights violated: https://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/reporter-s-rights-violated-1438583.html Horizon Parliamentary committee on Horizon redress: https://committees.parliament.uk/committee/365/business-and-trade-committee/news/212661/post-office-horizon-it-scandal-serious-structural-failings-persist-in-redress/ Bill at TCIJ on breaking the Horizon story: https://tcij.org/summer-conference-event/breaking-horizon-post-office-scandal/