EU Moves to Untangle the Overlap Between Competition & Data Protection Law

Key Takeaways

• Joint Guidance Initiative: The European Commission and European Data Protection Board will collaborate on guidance addressing how EU competition law and data protection law intersect.
• Focus on Overlapping Scenarios: The work will examine specific situations where data protection considerations influence competition assessments, and where competition issues affect data protection application.
• Push for Regulatory Coherence: The initiative aims to ensure a consistent and coherent approach between the two legal frameworks, reducing uncertainty for businesses and regulators.
• Builds on Prior DMA-GDPR Work: The effort follows earlier joint guidance on the interplay between the Digital Markets Act and the General Data Protection Regulation announced in 2024.

Deep Dive

The European Commission and the European Data Protection Board (EDPB) recently confirmed that they will begin joint work to develop guidance on how competition laws and data protection interact. The effort is aimed at clarifying how each body of law applies in situations where their boundaries blur, an increasingly common reality in a data-driven economy.

At issue is not a single rule, but a growing set of scenarios where privacy considerations and market dynamics intersect. The upcoming guidance will focus on selected cases where data protection law becomes relevant in competition assessments, and where competition concerns may, in turn, shape how data protection rules are interpreted. The intention is to promote a more coherent approach between the two regimes, rather than leaving businesses and regulators to navigate potential conflicts on a case-by-case basis.

Clarity, in this context, carries practical weight. Both frameworks serve distinct but complementary objectives, and aligning them more closely is seen as a way to ensure they function effectively without creating unnecessary uncertainty. For companies operating across the EU, clearer expectations around rights and obligations could help reduce the ambiguity that often accompanies overlapping regulatory requirements.

This is not the first time the two bodies have attempted to bridge that gap. The initiative builds on their earlier collaboration on guidance exploring the relationship between the Digital Markets Act and the General Data Protection Regulation, announced in 2024. That effort marked an initial step toward coordinating how key pieces of the EU’s digital rulebook interact in practice.

The new work suggests that coordination is becoming less of a one-off exercise and more of an ongoing priority. As data continues to shape both competition policy and privacy enforcement, the need for a consistent, joined-up approach is likely to remain firmly on the regulatory agenda.

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