The Research Handbook on Competition and Technology provides an in-depth look at the interplay between economics and competition law with particular emphasis on digital markets and emerging technologies. One of the recurrent themes throughout the Handbook is how digital markets are influenced on both macro- and microeconomic scales through technological advances and whether current methods of assessing competition are adequate in today’s evolving digital markets. Along these themes, the Handbook seeks to answer two central questions: “How does technological change challenge existing variants of competition law and how can law adapt to the new technological realities?” (p. 5). Of course, many more questions arise in these areas, which the authors of the several contributions attempt to address.

Three of these authors serve as editors of the Handbook: Pier Luigi Parcu, Maria Alessandra Rossi, and Marco Botta. The editors set the stage for answering these questions in the first chapter of the Handbook. Chapter 1 introduces common characteristics among digital markets that distinguish them from traditional markets and how those characteristics are relevant to competition law, particularly antitrust regulation and merger control. After establishing this background, the editors go on to tie each contribution to the Handbook to the overall themes. Those themes, divided into three parts, are the following: Competitive Dynamics in Digital Markets, Antitrust Enforcement in Digital Markets, and the Outer Boundaries of Competition Policy in Digital Markets.

Part I, Competitive Dynamics in Digital Markets, contains five chapters that address the interrelatedness of digital markets and competition law. These chapters ground the Handbook in the economic and political influences on digital markets and how current competition law interacts with emergent digital market issues in specific contexts, such as multisided platforms and artificial intelligence (AI). One of the editors, Parcu, contributes to the discourse by co-authoring two of the five chapters, with Rossi co-authoring another chapter in Part I. These first chapters set the foundation for establishing the facets of digital markets, such as data, market power, and market constraints. The final chapter of Part I on AI gives a look into how AI may affect the evolution of digital markets.

Part II expands on the influence of competition law and policy on digital markets by focusing on instances of antitrust enforcement. Spanning seven different chapters, many of the contributions include case studies examining specific enforcement issues. Most of the chapters focus on enforcement cases from the European Union (EU), such as cases brought before the European Commission against Google and Apple. One chapter, by Timothy J. Brennan, spotlights two enforcement cases in the United States (US). Centering on the cases of Department of Justice v. Google and Federal Trade Commission v. Facebook, Brennan provides the most extensive discussion of US antitrust law in Part II. The part concludes with two chapters addressing elements under EU law, specifically issues arising under merger control and how merger control laws have needed to evolve with digital markets and how antitrust damages calculations have evolved under the EU’s framework.

Part III further highlights how competition law and policy have adapted or need to adapt to the technological advancements in digital markets. Though many of the prior chapters touch on how current competition regulations have dealt with digital markets, the final part looks at the intersection of other digital policy concerns and competition policy. One such chapter examines the intersection of competition law and data protection in digital markets. Emphasizing regulations from the EU, such as the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) and the Digital Markets Act (DMA), along with the overarching Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union (TFEU), the chapter analyzes the interrelatedness of data protection violations and harms caused by anticompetitive behavior. Other chapters look at how competition policy interacts with media, intellectual property, and labor laws and policies, which expand the breadth of coverage into distinct areas.

The Handbook provides a wealth of information about digital markets and competition law and policy, with a particular emphasis on the economic and technological drivers (and disrupters) in the digital economy. The chapters include a mixture of literature reviews, case studies, and analyses that provide interdisciplinary views on the main topics. Readers with some background in economics and competition law will find this specific subset of chapters more accessible than other readers without such a foundation. Likewise, researchers, academics, lawyers, and policymakers working in the areas of law and economics and antitrust law may find the Handbook insightful, though the limited scope of the digital economy and emphasis on EU law may narrow its usefulness to some.

The editors set out to answer the two questions stated above through the inclusion of each contribution and seem successful in answering them to an extent. One drawback is, like with most print publications on emerging technologies, many of the technologies and the laws and policies in relation to such technologies will evolve beyond what can be answered as of the date of publication. However, this is a good starting point for a deep dive into the intersection of economics, technology, and competition law and policy. Overall, the collection provides a detailed view of this niche and emerging field.