Research On Legal Regulation Of Internet Platforms’ Abuse Of Market Dominance

In the digital economy era,the number of platform enterprises is gradually increasing,and with the popularity of smart phones,the Internet platform economy is more and more deeply integrated into people’s daily life,such as shopping with Taobao,paying with Alipay,and working with WPS.However,with the rapid development of the platform economy,competition among platform enterprises has become increasingly fierce,and various behaviors of abusing market dominance often occur,seriously disrupting the order of market competition,damaging the interests of consumers and other competitors.Since 2020,the country has also increased its enforcement efforts against monopoly in the field of internet platforms.Internet platforms such as Alibaba,Meituan,and CNKI have been punished for abusing their dominant market position.The newly revised "Anti Monopoly Law" was officially implemented in August 2022,which is also the first revision of the "Anti Monopoly Law" since its promulgation and implementation in 2008.The new legal provisions respond to society’s concern about the abuse of market dominance by internet platforms and are of great significance.However,due to the unique attributes of internet platforms that differ from traditional industries,there are still many deficiencies in the regulation of abusing market dominance in legislation,law enforcement,and judicial practice.How to reasonably and effectively regulate the abuse of market dominance by internet platforms is still the most urgent problem to be solved,and it is still a topic that needs in-depth research in theory and practice.The Internet industry has a natural monopoly different from traditional industries,which is fundamentally caused by its own unique attributes such as bilateral market,lock-in effect,network externality,free pricing,etc.In the era of digital economy,in order to obtain huge monopoly profits,platform enterprises are more likely to abuse their dominant market position,so strict regulations are needed.In the field of internet platforms,traditional market definition methods have partially failed,market structure standards are facing challenges,and abusive behavior is becoming more diverse and complex.Therefore,it is urgent to construct a new theoretical analysis framework.From the Chicago school to the New Brandeis School,the ideas of different schools in the United States have provided new ideas for solving relevant problems in China.At the same time,in order to delve into the theoretical basis for regulating the abuse of market dominance by internet platforms and understand the role of the "just cause" defense rule,it is necessary to understand two regulatory principles,namely the principle of self illegality and the principle of reasonableness.In terms of relevant legislation,the newly revised "Anti Monopoly Law",as well as the "Interim Provisions on Prohibiting the Abuse of Market Dominant Position" and the "Anti Monopoly Guidelines in the Field of Platform Economy",have made clear provisions.In terms of relevant practices,cases such as the "Baidu case","3Q case","Xu Shuqing v.Tencent case","Wesource v.Tencent case","Huaduo v.Net Ease case","Alibaba’s" two choice one "case",and "Meituan’s" two choice one "case" have emerged one after another.From these cases,we can analyze the current judicial and law enforcement practices in China: in terms of defining the relevant market,only unilateral market definitions are selected without reasoning,and alternative analysis methods are commonly used in defining the market;In terms of determining market dominance,the role of market share is weakened,and it is difficult for the plaintiff to provide evidence;In terms of identifying the abuse of market dominance,the rate of losing lawsuits in judicial cases is extremely high,and the punishment methods in law enforcement cases are single,mostly fines.From this,it can be seen that there are still many shortcomings in the legal regulations on the abuse of market dominance by internet platforms in China,including blurred boundaries of relevant markets,difficulty in applying market share standards,non-standard expression of "legitimate reasons",difficulty in providing evidence in antitrust litigation,and insufficient deterrent power of administrative penalties.The United States and the European Union are the early countries and international organizations to implement antitrust regulations,and have rich practical experience in regulating the abuse of market dominance on internet platforms.The relevant experience and measures provide a new solution to the problems of legal regulations on the abuse of market dominance by internet platforms in China,which has reference significance.For example,optimizing the definition of relevant markets;Weakening the role of market share and emphasizing market access barriers;Adopting strict legal responsibilities;Adopting the system of evidence disclosure in antitrust civil litigation;Establish a "gatekeeper" system,and so on.In response to the shortcomings of abusing market dominance on current internet platforms,suggestions for improvement are proposed from four aspects based on the experience of the European Union and the United States.Firstly,improve the relevant identification system,including optimizing the relevant market identification approach,emphasizing market entry barriers,and adjusting the identification approach for abusive behavior;Secondly,improve relevant legal responsibilities,including improving relevant administrative responsibilities and reasonably stipulating criminal responsibilities;Further improve the relevant legal application,including strengthening the court’s right to collect evidence in the relevant market definition,establishing an evidence disclosure system in the field of internet antitrust,reasonably allocating the burden of proof,and improving the rules of "justifiable reasons" defense;Finally,improve the relevant regulatory system,including strengthening pre supervision of super platforms and establishing a collaborative supervision model for internet platforms.