Overview

Dr Arletta Gorecka is a Lecturer in Law with expertise in EU competition law, privacy, data protection, technology law and digital markets. She holds a PhD in Competition Law from the University of Strathclyde, where her doctoral research examined the relationship between competition law and privacy, with particular focus on privacy as a potential element of a theory of harm under EU competition law. She also holds a First Class LLB (Hons) degree from the University of Stirling.

Arletta has extensive teaching experience across undergraduate and postgraduate law programmes and has held academic positions at the University of Stirling, University of Strathclyde and Glasgow Caledonian University. She has also undertaken international teaching and research as a Visiting Professor at the British University in Egypt.

Alongside her specialism in EU competition law and digital regulation, Arletta has a strong interest in the development of technology law and the legal challenges arising from digitalisation, emerging technologies and innovation. Her work is informed by both European and Scottish legal perspectives, and she is particularly interested in the development of technology law within Scotland and the wider UK.

Her principal research interests lie at the intersection of competition law, privacy, data protection and technology, particularly in the context of digital markets. Her work considers how competition law can respond to privacy-related harms, the role of privacy within theories of harm under Article 102 TFEU, and the regulatory challenges created by data-driven business models, digital platforms and emerging technologies.

Arletta is the author of The Interface between Competition Law and Data Privacy Law: Violation of Privacy as an Exploitative Theory of Harm under Article 102 TFEU, published by Springer in 2024. She is also the author of numerous journal articles, book chapters and contributions examining competition, privacy, data protection, technology and digital regulation.

Area of academic expertise – outline

Arletta's research focuses primarily on EU competition law and its interaction with privacy, data protection and technology law. A central strand of her work examines whether privacy-related concerns can form part of competition law analysis, particularly where dominant undertakings collect and process extensive amounts of personal data.

Her research has considered the relationship between privacy and competition in digital markets, including the role of privacy as a dimension of consumer welfare, innovation and competition. She has also examined exploitative theories of harm under Article 102 TFEU and their relevance to emerging digital business models, including the 'pay-or-consent' model.

More broadly, Arletta is interested in technology law and the legal implications of digital transformation. This includes the regulation of online platforms, artificial intelligence, data-driven technologies, internet and communications technologies, and the changing relationship between law, innovation and technological development.

She is particularly interested in contributing to the development of technology law research and knowledge exchange in Scotland. Drawing on her academic background and experience teaching and working within Scottish legal education, she is interested in examining how Scots law and the wider UK legal framework respond to technological change and the increasing importance of digital technologies in society, business and legal practice.

Her recent work continues to explore the changing relationship between competition regulation, privacy, technology and digital markets, including the implications of the European Commission's enforcement of the Digital Markets Act and broader developments concerning the regulation of large digital platforms.

Desired research direction

Building on her existing research, Arletta is interested in developing further research at the intersection of competition law, privacy, data protection, technology and digital regulation. In particular, her work seeks to examine how existing legal frameworks can respond to the challenges presented by data-driven digital markets, emerging technologies and new forms of digital market power.

She is interested in developing research on technology law within the Scottish context, including questions surrounding the interaction between technological innovation, regulation and legal practice. This may include research examining artificial intelligence, digital platforms, data governance, online regulation and the legal implications of emerging technologies.

She also intends to continue developing her work on theories of harm under Article 102 TFEU and the relationship between competition, consumer protection and privacy in the digital economy. A particular area of interest is the extent to which traditional legal categories and regulatory frameworks remain capable of addressing the increasingly interconnected challenges created by digitalisation.

Target collaborative organisations

Arletta is interested in collaborative research with academic institutions, public bodies, regulators, technology organisations and industry partners working in the areas of competition law, privacy, data protection, technology and digital regulation.

She is particularly interested in projects examining the regulation of digital platforms, data-driven business models, artificial intelligence, emerging technologies and new forms of digital market power. She is also keen to contribute to collaborative initiatives supporting the development of technology law research, policy and knowledge exchange in Scotland.

Other areas of expertise available for knowledge exchange

Arletta has expertise in EU competition law, privacy and data protection law, technology law, digital markets and the regulation of online platforms. She has particular experience examining the interaction between law and technological change, including the regulatory challenges created by extensive data collection, digital platforms and emerging forms of market power.

Her broader teaching and academic experience also includes Scots law and a range of core legal subjects. Having completed her LLB (Hons) with First Class honours at the University of Stirling and subsequently taught across a range of legal disciplines, she is familiar with the Scottish legal and educational context.

She has contributed to academic and professional discussions on the relationship between competition, privacy and technology and has presented her research internationally at conferences and research colloquia in the UK and overseas. She has also contributed to contemporary debates concerning competition regulation and digital markets, including participation as a panel member for Mozilla at CPDP 2025.

Current teaching activities

In this academic year, Arletta is teaching:

• Foundations of Law

• Contemporary Legal Issues 3

• Family Law