Research On Legal Issues In The Definition Of Market Related To The Instant Messaging Industry

As one of the distinctive industries in the Internet field,the instant messaging industry has its own market characteristics.Firstly,its cross-network externality makes it possible to comprehensively consider the bilateral nature of the market in specific cases when deciding the relevant market scope.Judging whether the market on both sides of the intermediate platform will affect the relevant market scope of the case,the specific analysis should How to choose the market is to consider the market participants on both sides or the participants on both sides in order to get an accurate and fair answer.In this bilateral market,the user's status is higher,and the free service strategy that increases user loyalty makes the traditional multi-price-based definition not fully applicable.Secondly,given the innovation and dynamics of the industry,the definition of the relevant market scope cannot ignore the alternative problems of future new products,otherwise the defined market scope may be too narrow.At the same time,the user lock-in effect of the industry cannot be ignored.This paper mainly uses case analysis methods,combined with two typical cases of Tencent living in the dock,to analyze the current problems encountered in China's instant messaging industry from three dimensions of defining the market scope,including the difficulty of relevant market selection due to industry characteristics.In addition to the traditional price-use factors,it is necessary to comprehensively consider the difficulties of other factors,and it is difficult for the plaintiff to prove that the defendant's relevant market conditions,making the burden of proof too heavy.By drawing on the legislation and practical experience of the United States and the European Union on relevant markets,it is concluded that the alternative analysis method should be emphasized,and the SSNIP test method should be adjusted according to specific cases.It is reasonable to define the relevant geographical market and not to expand the geographical scope excessively.At the same time,some new definitions of foreign countries can be learned.In view of the current status of the relevant market scope in China,it is proposed to change the traditional cognitive thinking and pay more attention to the relevant time market and the factors of the innovation market.