Anti-monopoly Law Regulation Of Internet Algorithm Price Discrimination

The rapid development of Internet economy,the continuous maturity of algorithm technology and the rapid change of data technology are profoundly changing people’s way of life.Algorithmic price discrimination means that the Internet platform obtains a large amount of consumers’ personal information through self-collection or purchase,and paints a portrait based on the consumption habits and preferences of the transaction counterparts through algorithm technology.Unreasonable differential pricing will result in algorithmic price discrimination.Algorithmic price discrimination seriously damages the legitimate rights and interests of consumers and reduces their welfare level,affects the normal operation of market mechanism,prevents other competitors from entering and leaving the market freely,and inhibits the improvement of innovation level.In the long run,algorithmic price discrimination will hinder the normal operation of the market order and hinder market competition.Algorithm price discrimination behavior is hidden,the scope of damage is extensive,easy to cause chain reaction,due to the lack of regulation of e-commerce law,consumer rights and interests protection law,the anti-monopoly law is regarded as the basic tool of algorithm price discrimination behavior regulation,but also in line with the purpose of the anti-monopoly law to pursue the value of efficiency and protect competition.The uniqueness of algorithm price discrimination behavior challenges the regulation of anti-monopoly law.There are some problems,such as too narrow definition of the main body of "dominant market position",unclear reasonableness defense,lack of algorithmic provisions,and difficult anti-monopoly private relief.The formation of algorithm price discrimination is closely related to the improper use of algorithm mechanism.It is necessary to continuously improve the transparency of algorithm,standardize the legitimate use of consumer data information by merchants in a substantial sense,and expand the overall regulation of algorithm price discrimination behavior by empowering consumer data and strengthening algorithm openness.When optimizing the anti-monopoly law,it is necessary to innovate the relevant market definition method from the platform’s own attributes and data collection ability,clearly define the applicable situation of the defense of just cause at the legislative level,carry out the efficiency standard,operator’s necessary standard and consumer benefit standard as the judgment basis,refine the defense rules of just cause,and adopt the principle of inverted burden of proof to reduce the burden of proof of consumer litigation.Strengthen private relief for consumers.