By Xiong Hongru, Research Team on “Factors Leading to Platform Monopoly in the Era of Digital Economy and Countermeasures for Addressing Challenges”, Research Department of Innovation Development, DRC

Research Report, Special Issue, No.31, 2019 (Total 1659) 2019-4-26

Abstract: In the era of digital economy, anti-monopoly regulation and competition policy making are facing many new challenges. The static and one-way anti-monopoly analysis framework and judgment benchmark may not be in lockstep with the dynamic and cross-bounder platform economy in the digital era, because it is hard to define the relevant market performance and difficult to identify the dominant position of the market. Many suspected monopoly conducts occur frequently, such as predatory pricing, alternative options or “one out of two”, leverage in adjacent markets, price discrimination and algorithm-based collusion, all of which have added difficulty and controversy to competition evaluation. In the course of Anti-monopoly Law enforcement, there loom up many prominent problems. For example, the scope and timing are often hard to choose, obtaining evidence through investigation is difficult, conduct relief is not timely, means of law enforcement is inappropriate and professional force is inadequate. These new challenges have drawn great care from major anti-monopoly areas around the world. Although different countries have different regulatory concepts and law enforcement methods due to different industrial development phases and institutional framework, they all agree to take a broader regulatory view, enhance innovation of analytical tools and implement flexible law enforcement while laying emphasis on national interests. The current anti-monopoly framework is still working, but it needs to be improved properly so as to effectively address new problems.

Key words: digital platform, anti-monopoly, major challenges, international experience