Ecija and the Nebrija University have signed a collaboration agreement for the creation of the Observatory of Regulation and Competitionin Digital Markets, a joint initiative aimed at the analysis, research and dissemination of the main challenges posed by the digital economy from a regulatory and competition perspective.
The Observatory was created in a context of profound market transformation, marked by the emergence of technologies such as artificial intelligence, pricing algorithms, digital platforms, and new data-driven business models. Its objective is to bridge the gap between academia and professional practice, offering a legal and economic perspective applied to the evolution of digital markets and the regulatory frameworks that govern them.
In 2026, the Observatory will analyze, among other things, some of the main challenges posed by the intersection between regulation, competition and technology, such as the use of algorithms and artificial intelligence systems in potentially collusive conduct, the application of Competition Law and the Digital Markets Act to large digital platforms, the role of data as a competitive asset, the platform economy and the anti-competitive effects of new digital distribution models, as well as the challenges arising from automation and algorithmic decision-making.
Within the framework of this collaboration, Ecija and Nebrija University will promote the publication of periodic reports, the organization of workshops and working sessions with experts in the sector, as well as conferences and seminars aimed at fostering academic and professional debate.
The academic coordination of the Observatory will be the responsibility of Fernando Díez Estella, permanent professor of Commercial Law at the Faculty of Economics and Business, on behalf of Nebrija University, and of partners Patricia Liñán Hernández and Rafael Piqueras Cuartero, on behalf of Ecija.
The creation of this Observatory “reinforces Nebrija University’s strategic commitment to knowledge transfer, dialogue between academia and professional practice, and the generation of rigorous and useful proposals for public and private decision-makers. Through this collaboration, Nebrija consolidates its position as a key academic player in the study of the digital economy, technology regulation, and new market models in the European and international context”, said Fernando Díez.
With this project, Ecija reinforces its vision that “competition law advice cannot be understood without a deep understanding of the dynamics inherent in digital markets and their various manifestations: algorithms, data governance and processing, digital platforms, and artificial intelligence, among many others. This Observatory was created precisely to anticipate how these dynamics are redefining the application of competition law and economic regulation, and to actively contribute to this debate from a specialized and practical legal perspective,” stated Patricia Liñán Hernández and Rafael Piqueras Cuartero, partners in the Competition area at Ecija.
The Observatory will hold its first public event on February 5, focusing on the analysis of the recent Meta ruling and the convergence between data protection and competition law in the digital economy. This inaugural session marks the beginning of the organization’s activities and reflects its commitment to applied analysis of the major regulatory challenges facing digital markets. Further information about this first meeting can be found at this link.
