Research On Antitrust Regulation Of Internet Platform M＆A

With the rapid development of the economy and the continuous rise of the Internet industry,half of the real economy has been occupied by the virtual digital economy,and the Internet platform as a representative of the Internet industry has come into being.Due to the particularity of Internet platforms,the way of concentration of their operators is not as simple and direct as that of traditional industries,but the acquisition of data traffic as the main way of concentration.However,we can not blindly deny the concentration of data traffic,reasonable data traffic concentration is conducive to the concentration of the industry,improve the scale and efficiency of the industry,can provide consumers with better services.Since there are so many differences between Internet enterprises and traditional enterprises,the particularity of M＆A of Internet enterprises should also be taken into account when carrying out anti-monopoly regulations,following the basic framework of the original declaration standards,review standards,relevant market determinations,and legal liability determinations.Only by improving the review structure of the anti-monopoly review system can we meet the needs of the current economic development and thus not lag behind the development of society.In the process of adjustment,the following problems were encountered: First,in terms of declaration standards,China’s Anti-Monopoly Law adopts the turnover standard,although the latest "Anti-Monopoly Guidelines of the Anti-Monopoly Committee of the State Council on the Platform Economy" has proposed the concept of transaction volume standards,but it is only simply proposed,and does not give detailed calculation methods and basis.The traditional turnover standard can no longer be applied to the profit model of Internet platforms.There are problems such as unclear turnover calculation methods and single declaration standards.Second,the particularity of the development of Internet platforms has led to some problems in the original censorship system,such as vague principled review standards,weak operability of examination factors,and imperfect censorship procedures.Third,in terms of the definition of relevant markets,the traditional price standards have been impacted by the free behavior of the Internet,the factors defined under the bilateral market are complex,and the boundaries of the relevant markets are blurred.Fourth,in terms of attribution of legal liability,the provisions on civil liability are too general,and the amount of fines that should be declared but not declared is low.Therefore,after examining the legislation of the United States,Germany,the European Union and Japan on the anti-monopoly regulation of Internet platforms,it has great reference significance for the development of China’s legislation.China has therefore received a lot of enlightenment: First of all,in terms of declaration standards,learn from the experience of the United States and Germany,take the transaction volume as the main standard,and give specific calculation methods and basis,not just generalizations,and lead to traffic standards and data standards as supplements to make up for the lack of the original turnover standards.Second,in terms of the review system,the conditions for concentration of undertakings should be revised,a complete review system should be constructed and the factors examined should be refined,and the anti-monopoly review procedures for concentration of undertakings should be improved.In addition,in the identification of relevant markets,"consumer attention" is used as a identification indicator,and innovative definition methods are innovated,such as the introduction of product performance testing methods and profit model testing methods,and the concept of "relevant markets" is reasonably diluted.Finally,in terms of regulating legal liability,expand the scope of civil remedies,establish a civil liability system based on punitive damages,and appropriately increase the amount of fines.