Competition in Online News, Algorithmic Curation, and Advertising: Between Markets and Democracy

This article examines the effects of the use of behavioural targeting and programmatic advertising on competition, freedom of speech, and democracy in the online news sector. It subsequently explores the institutional alternatives available to address these issues. By revealing the network of parties involved in the process and the users’ data they share, this research demonstrates the central role of certain digital platforms in shaping demand and the different levels of competition existing between platforms, ad networks, advertisers, and newspapers. Accordingly, this article begins by mapping out the relationships between advertisers, publishers, data aggregators, and other third parties. It then considers the different dimensions of competition in the collection and elaboration of the data needed to perform behavioural targeting, therefore discussing whether competition law intervention would be justified. It also relies on new empirical research on behavioural tracking in the online news sector.
The paper considers the effects of digital platforms and targeting on the quality of news reporting, on the diversity of information disseminated and on democracy as connected to the competitive dynamics established in the market. Targeted advertisement and tailored webpages are part of a new type of behavioural targeting hinging on the elaboration of data obtained from the digital identities of the users. In the market for news, information, and ultimately ideas, the creation of a tailored digital environment may bring about not only economic effects but also distortions to the democratic process.