Research On The Legal Regulation Of Data Access Restriction Behavior

Internet platforms,as the main form of digital economy,often restrict other operators from accessing their own data in order to maintain their competitive advantage.Because the data access restriction behavior has the characteristics of disrupting the free competition order and harming the interests of consumers,the competition law is mostly used to regulate the data access restriction behavior in judicial practice.However,the criteria for determining the illegality of data access restriction in judicial practice vary from case to case.At the same time,the first case of being sued for monopoly due to the implementation of data access restriction has appeared in judicial practice,and there is a lack of relevant theoretical studies and case references.This paper adopts the case study method and comparative study method to study the current situation,dilemma and reasons of the regulation of data access restriction behaviors,and proposes the path of improvement.This paper first outlines the theories related to data access restriction,including the definition of the concept of data access restriction,the characteristics of data access restriction compared with active data crawling and the types of data access restriction.Then,the current status of data access restriction regulation is introduced.In this section,we explain the current status of the regulation of data access restriction in China,i.e.,it is mainly regulated by the anti-unfair competition law and the anti-monopoly law.Then,the theoretical basis for the application of the anti-unfair competition law and the anti-monopoly law are introduced respectively.At the same time,several representative cases of data access restriction in China are analyzed,and the theoretical controversies of each case and how the judges used competition law to regulate data access restriction are identified through a careful reading of the case,the judges’ explanations and the final verdict.Next,we summarize the current dilemmas in the application of competition law to regulate data access restrictions,and analyze the reasons for these dilemmas,such as the lack of specific regulatory laws,the limited scope of application of Internet provisions,and the difficulty in defining the data-related market.After analyzing the current dilemmas and reasons for regulating data access restrictions,the essence of the problems caused by data access restrictions,namely the unclear legal properties of data,will also be discussed.Finally,the current status of regulation,the dilemma of regulation and its causes are combined to propose corresponding improvement paths for the future use of competition law to regulate data access restriction,such as promoting the construction of network data circulation industry norms and the construction of data compulsory licensing system.This paper analyzes the theoretical dilemma and reasons for the regulation of data access restriction,and provides a theoretical basis for the better use of competition law to regulate data access restriction in subsequent judicial practice.At the same time,this paper proposes a more feasible improvement path for the use of competition law to regulate data access restriction,which can better solve the problem of different judgments in the same case in judicial practice,and can play a preventive role in the disputes that may be caused by data access restriction.The ultimate goal of this study is to maintain an orderly and efficient data market competition,promote the orderly circulation of data resources in the market,and allow the healthy development of the digital economy.