Diversified Legal Regulation Of Online Platforms Algorithmic Price Discrimination

With the help of big data and algorithm technology,online platforms have the ability to make accurate predictions of consumer demand and willingness to pay,making algorithmic price discrimination infinitely close to perfect price discrimination.The algorithmic price discrimination implemented by the digital platforms can produce positive effects such as efficient matching between supply and demand,output expansion,etc.But also trigger a series of social risks,such as weakening the power of consumers’ game,damaging consumers’ right of independent choice,and threatening the construction of digital trust.However,relevant laws have insufficient responses.First,the identification and evaluation methods of relevant markets,market dominance and competitive effects in the anti-monopoly regulatory framework have encountered obstacles in the field of platform economy.Second,the actual protection of consumers’ right to know has weakened in the digital era.The form of the "informed consent" rule has been seriously alienated.Third,the provision of complete prohibition lacks legal basis,which is easy to be harmful to business innovation due to excessive regulation,and there is a real dilemma in the consumer relief.In the case of insufficient supply of relevant legal resources,it is necessary to go back to the source and seek reliable legal support.In view of the increasingly serious problem of information asymmetry between consumers and platforms,the theory of consumer information right protection and the inclined protection model can play an important role.The introduction of due process principle in algorithm regulation can help solve the dilemma that the law was difficult to intervene in the algorithm in the past.As the accountability of the algorithm is confirmed and the feasibility of using due process rules to regulate the algorithm procedure is proved,the way of legal regulation of the algorithm will become clearer.In addition,the adoption of the new "price & choice" composite consumer interest standard in the anti-monopoly theory can bring the behavior of large digital platforms that hinder consumers’ independent choice in the marketing link into the anti-monopoly vision,breaking through the previous consumer interest standard with price as the core connotation.Putting algorithmic price discrimination into a diversified legal orbit can be carried out from three dimensions: point,line and plane,forming a threedimensional regulatory network.Break through the difficulties of regulation,bring the data control ability into the recognition of market position,introduce the limitation of consumer choice into the assessment of damage results,propose the concept of "gatekeeper" system on the basis of drawing on the legal experience of the European Union,and play the important role of the Antimonopoly Law in regulation.Strengthen the supply of legal systems in the whole process,build an algorithm impact assessment system in advance to prevent the risk of adverse consequences of the algorithm,improve consumers’ right to know and the right to choose in the event to narrow the information gap,and test the legitimacy of the algorithm through the discrimination mechanism afterwards,requiring operators to undertake the obligation of reasonable explanation for the adverse consequences of algorithm decisions.Gather joint efforts to improve the level of social governance,including the rapid intervention of regulatory agencies through agile governance,the inversion of the burden of proof to support consumer rights,and promote the platform to set up a full-time algorithm director to supervise algorithm activities and deal with public complaints.