Bio
Andreas Hartl is a senior government official at the German Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Energy (BMWi). He is responsible for the Green Paper on Digital Platforms which aims to establish a regulatory framework designed to facilitate greater investment and innovation based on fair competition, while also assuring basic individual and corporate rights and data sovereignty. The BMWi has opened a public consultation procedure and will submit a White Paper setting out specific regulatory proposals at the beginning of 2017.
Andreas Hartl studied law at Marburg University and graduated with the first state exam in 2001. From 2002 through 2004, he undertook postgraduate legal training at the Higher Regional Court of Düsseldorf and took the second state exam. In 2004, he entered employment at the Federal Network Agency and joined the BMWi in 2012. He is Deputy Head of the Division responsible for general issues of telecommunications and postal policy, competitive and regulatory issues of digitization and supervision of Federal Network Agency.
Internet-based platforms, such as search engines, social networks and trading platforms, are playing an ever growing economic role. They increase productivity, drive innovation and also attract investment. The development of platforms additionally has the potential to transform markets and market structures very rapidly.
One reason for the special role of platforms is their capability to systematically collect and evaluate large amounts of data. The benefit and value of a platform increases with every additional user (network effect). Larger platforms keep on expanding almost automatically, while most smaller competitors remain small (‘winner takes all’).
Many business models on the Internet are based on using data commercially. It is still largely unclear who ‘owns’ the particular data in question, and what monetary value can be placed on it. Furthermore, the evident lack of practical interest in data protection stands in contrast to the abstract preferences voiced (privacy paradox).
In this talk, I will address the process initiated by the German Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Energy, the aim of which is to establish a regulatory framework designed to facilitate greater investment and innovation based on fair competition, while also assuring basic individual and corporate rights and data sovereignty.