Browsing by Author "Errib, Abu"

Big Data is considered an essential asset for online business models and crucial for their services. These business models depend on the processing and monetization of the data; thus, big data is said to be the driving force of their market behavior. The emergence of big data for online platform businesses may give rise to a specific type of abuse under Article 102 TFEU. For instance, incumbents may prevent competitors from accessing valuable data. In this regard, this thesis will analyze the concept of refusal to supply, which is considered an abuse of dominance under Article 102 TFEU in certain circumstances. Therefore, the purpose is to analyze the applicability of the refusal to supply in big data situations. The research question of this thesis is – can an online platform´s refusal to provide access to data constitutes an abuse of dominant position according to Article 102 TFEU. The analysis leads to the conclusion that under certain conditions, a dominant company can be forced to provide access to its datasets if the requirement is met. This thesis will mainly consider the issue of the indispensability requirement of big data.