Research On Antitrust Regulation Of Algorithmic Price Discrimination

With the advent of the new digital economy,algorithms have become a common and f undamental language and their inclusion is crucial for both the efficiency and quality of platform operators’ decisions.In today’s digital economy,algorithms and data are b ecoming a new and important factor of production and are having a significant impact on traditional business models and competition.In addition,the introduction of big d ata and algorithms complicates the impact of price discrimination in the market.Compared to conventional price discrimination,algorithmic price discrimination,due to its specific features,presents a number of problems for the enforcement of existing antitrust laws and regulations.From the present state of its regulation,it can be conclu ded that there are difficulties in defining the relevant product market,that the scope of the law is too narrow,that it is difficult to establish the illegality of algorithmic price discrimination,and that the provisions on legitimate expectations are vague.In addition to the preamble and the concluding remarks,the present work consists of t he following four parts.Part Ⅰ: Overview of algorithmic price discrimination.This part defines algorithmic pri ce discrimination and then highlights its specific features,such as its universality,the fact that it is more insidious and its wider implications.It is further categorized into its main manifestations,namely discrimination based on consumer history,discriminatio n based on personalised needs and differential pushing.Part Two: State of play of the legal regulation of algorithmic price discrimination.Thi s part examines the substantive regulation of competition law,the regulation of algorit hmic price discrimination under competition law and related provisions,and the state of play of other relevant legal regulation.Part Ⅲ: Problems in the regulation of algorithmic price discrimination under competit ion law.The identification of B2 B markets has become difficult due to the interferenc e of algorithmic technology.Due to the low barrier to entry for algorithms,even nondominant platform operators can impose differential pricing on consumers.However,there is still room for improvement in determining whether algorithmic discrimination is unlawful and the level and capacity of regulation could be improved.Part Ⅳ: Proposals to improve antitrust regulation of algorithmic price discrimination.By improving the method of defining the relevant product market,the traditional quali fiers of dominance should be broken through to define its illegal acts in a more rationa l and scientific way.In addition,law enforcement and regulatory capacity,competitio n policy and big data centres should be improved,and attention should also be paid to the training of high-level and sophisticated antitrust enforcement personnel.