The Competition Law Regulation Of The Exclusive Dealing Of Platform Economy

In recent years,with the development and maturity of the platform economy,competition among platform operators has gradually shifted from "incremental competition" to "stock competition".Due to insufficient incentives for quality improvement and fee reduction,platform operators have turned to exclusive transactions and other suspected monopolistic or unfair competition behaviors to achieve the purpose of obstructing and blocking competitors.At the same time,the exclusive transaction behavior in the field of platform economy also tends to be normalized and complicated.This article uses it as a research starting point and proposes that exclusive transactions in the field of platform economy are suspected of excluding or restricting competition and should be included in the scope of competition laws and regulations.However,under the current legal framework of our country,the competition laws and regulations for such behaviors seem to have laws to follow,but in fact they cannot be followed.In practice,exclusive trading behaviors in the field of platform economy are not uncommon,and there is a clear “regulatory misalignment”.The main content of this article is divided into the following three parts:The first part,the introduction of the problem,proposes that exclusive transactions in the field of platform economy should be subject to competition regulations.Introduce the platform,platform economy and exclusive transaction behavior,and combine with typical cases,divide the exclusive transaction behavior in the field of platform economy into punishment type,incentive type,and agreement type.Proposing that such acts are not "in itself illegal",but considering that my country’s Internet platform market has been highly concentrated,if platform operators implement exclusive transactions,it will greatly damage the multi-homing of operators on the platform and the choice of end consumers Rights,and hinder and block market competition.In the second part,the core issue is raised.Under the current legal framework of our country,the competition laws and regulations for exclusive trading behaviors in the field of platform economy seem to have laws to follow,but they are not.This kind of behavior may constitute an act of unfair competition,and may also constitute an act of abuse of a dominant market position or a monopoly agreement.In practice,exclusive transaction behavior can be adjusted separately as the "Anti-Unfair Competition Law" and "Anti-Monopoly Law" as the general competition law and the "E-Commerce Law" as the special competition law.But in the specific application,not only the degree of difficulty is different,but also each law has its shortcomings.First of all,the "Anti-Monopoly Law" has too high a threshold for determining market dominance,and lack of restrictions on the "justified reasons" for abuses.The application of the bottom line clauses of vertical monopoly agreements faces restrictions on the application of the provisions,strict restrictions on the subject of application,and enthusiasm for enforcement.The practical difficulties are not high;secondly,there are provisions related to this in the Anti-Unfair Competition Law,but the relevant provisions are strong in principle and low in operability,or are inconsistent with the characteristics of such behaviors,and are not applicable.Finally,there are problems in the connection between the Electronic Commerce Law and the Anti-Monopoly Law and the Anti-Unfair Competition Law.Article 22 of the law does not fully grasp the characteristics of market competition in the Internet industry,and Article 35 lacks corresponding Theoretical basis.The third part,based on the perspectives of law formulation and law enforcement,puts forward ideas for solving problems.On the one hand,rebuild the regulatory system and interpret relevant rules.To narrow down the interpretation of Article 35 of the Electronic Commerce Law to avoid the anti-monopoly system from being emptied,and to build a dual-regulation pattern of the anti-monopoly law and the anti-unfair competition law against such behaviors;improve the relevant aspects of the competition law The system includes detailed considerations for determining the dominant market position of operators in the economic field of the platform,clarification of the role of the principle of proportionality in determining justification,and the use of exclusive transaction agreements as a typical statutory situation for vertical monopoly agreements;based on the theory of abuse of relative superiority,A narrow interpretation of the scope and conditions of Article 35 of the "E-Commerce Law".On the other hand,strictly review the concentration of operators in the platform economy to avoid excessive market concentration,and prevent Internet companies from gaining advantages or dominant positions through mergers and acquisitions,and then implementing various monopolistic behaviors;it is recommended to substantially increase the number of full-time anti-monopoly law enforcement personnel The quantity provides talent guarantee for the implementation of the anti-monopoly law.