The Antitrust Regulation Research To The Abuse Of Market Dominance By Instant Messaging Companies

With the development of instant messaging technology,the emerging instant messaging industry has rapidly emerged as a network application with the highest user scale.At the same time,in this development process,the connection function of instant messaging products to entertainment,news,retail,e-commerce,life service and government service has gradually emerged,which has greatly facilitated people’s production and life.However,in recent years,there have been a series of cases in which abuse of market dominance has occurred in this field.For example,the “3Q War” between Qihoo and Tencent.Such cases have been repeatedly banned and far-reaching,posing great challenges to the implementation of the anti-monopoly law in the field of instant messaging.Specifically,affected by the cross-border competition and network effect characteristics of the instant messaging industry,the relevant market definitions,market dominance determination,abuse behavior determination and legal liability commitment of the anti-monopoly law in the abuse of market dominance in this field are encountered dilemmas.Therefore,it is necessary to combine the nature and characteristics of market competition in the instant messaging industry,follow the general approach of the anti-monopoly practice department to deal with abuse,and follow the route of “define relevant market–determine market dominance –identify abuse–pursue legal responsibility”,so as to improve the anti-monopoly laws’ regulatory function in the instant messaging field.In addition to the introduction and conclusion,the article mainly includes five parts:The first part: the basic interpretation of the abuse of market dominance by instant messaging companies.Through the analysis of the definition of instant messaging enterprise,the meaning of market dominance and the meaning of “abuse”,the concept of abuse of market dominance by instant messaging companies is summarized.On this basis,the expressions of abuse of market dominance by instant messaging companies are summarized,including tying,exclusive transactions,refusal of transactions and predatory pricing.At the same time,because the above actions will undermine market competition order,reduce economic efficiency,harm consumers’ interests,and even inhibit technological innovation,it is necessary to carry out anti-monopoly regulations.The second part: the definition of the relevant market in the field of instant messaging.On the basis of combing the specific dilemmas of the relevant product market in the instant messaging field,the paper proposes a solution to improve the qualitative analysis method andquantitative analysis method.In view of the excessive broadening of the definition of relevant geographical markets and the failure of traditional definition factors,it is pointed out that we should focus on the characteristics of instant messaging products,focusing on the influence of laws,policies,languages and usage habits.In addition,in the face of the ever-changing competitive situation in the instant messaging industry,it is emphasized that anti-monopoly law enforcement agencies should weigh all relevant factors and determine a reasonable time horizon as the boundary of the relevant time market.The third part: the judgment of the dominant position of instant messaging companies.Through the introduction and criticism of the traditional market dominance recognition theory,the difficulty in judging the market dominance of instant messaging companies is summarized.In particular,the free business model invalidates the market share calculation method,and the oligopolistic market structure normality leads to the decrease of market share accuracy,and the dynamic characteristic causes the decline in the market share standard’s probative force.On this basis,it is proposed that it is not appropriate to increase the proportion of market share recognition,we should quantify the attention of users as the center to improve the market share calculation method,and use market barriers as an important reference factor,also should attach importance to the technological innovation capability of enterprises.The fourth part: the identification of the abuse of market dominance by instant messaging companies.For the identification problem of the abuse of market dominance by instant messaging companies,the paper puts forward an idea that applying the unary mode of reasonable principle to analyze whether the enterprise has market dominance,whether it has the intention of monopolizing the market,whether it has the effect of restricting competition,and whether it harms the interests of consumers,and whether the act has a valid reason,so that the illegality of the behavior can be reasonable judged.In addition,because different types of abuse of market dominance behaviors have different key points in identification,according to the characteristics of the instant messaging industry,the main points of tying behavior,exclusive transactions,refusal transactions and predatory pricing determination are pointed out.The fifth part: the legal liability of instant messaging companies for abusing market dominance.It comprehensively analyzes the administrative,civil and criminal responsibilities of the abuse of market dominance by instant messaging companies,and proposes the refinement of administrative fines,the establishment of an “executive penalty” system,theclarification of the imputation principle of civil liability,the establishment of punitive damages and the countermeasures for building criminal liability.