Competition law and the digital economy

The last time the Competition Act underwent a review was in 2008 — back when few of us had smartphones, Facebook had only just pulled ahead of Myspace in terms of worldwide users. It was the year Apple made iTunes the storefront for its App Store, and when Netflix first introduced streaming.

So when Canada’s Minister of Innovation, Science and Economic Development, François-Philippe Champagne, announced plans earlier this year to examine the Act, it was probably long past due. We’ve been hearing growing calls for reform by the likes of the Commissioner of Competition, Matthew Boswell, and others.

But as we brace ourselves for the next era of innovation in which artificial intelligence, quantum computing, and possibly the metaverse rise to the fore, we must ask ourselves whether we can just tinker with the Act or whether we need a wholesale rethink? In this episode of the podcast, our guest, Jennifer Quaid, explains why it’s so crucial that we listen to a broad range of different perspectives before we decide how to reform the Act.

Quaid is an associate professor and the vice-dean of research in the Civil Law Section at the University of Ottawa. She’s also a leading legal expert and scholar in organizational criminal liability, corporate accountability, and business ethics, and one of her many areas of research interests is competition law. She recently authored a chapter in the recent book Artificial Intelligence and the Law in Canada edited by her colleagues, Florian Martin-Bariteau and Teresa Scassa. Her chapter focuses on competition law.