Antitrust and Digital Platforms : An Analysis of Global Patterns and Approaches by Competition Authorities
The pace at which markets are evolving, thanks to the accelerated adoption of digital technologies, poses important challenges to competition law and its enforcement. This work aims to support this process by building an understanding of the experi...
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| Format: | Report |
| Language: | English |
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World Bank, Washington, DC
2021
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| Online Access: | http://documents.worldbank.org/curated/undefined/893381632736476155/Antitrust-and-Digital-Platforms-An-Analysis-of-Global-Patterns-and-Approaches-by-Competition-Authorities http://hdl.handle.net/10986/36364 |
| Summary: | The pace at which markets are evolving,
thanks to the accelerated adoption of digital technologies,
poses important challenges to competition law and its
enforcement. This work aims to support this process by
building an understanding of the experiences of competition
authorities in deciding on competition enforcement cases in
the digital economy. This note analyzes the global digital
antitrust database of the markets, competition, and
technology unit (the MCT DAD or the database) and provides a
summary of key patterns and trends in antitrust in the
digital economy (and specifically in relation to digital
platforms firms). This database aims to be a holistic source
of information on abuse of dominance, anticompetitive
agreements, and merger cases involving digital platforms,
which have been finalized by antitrust authorities
worldwide. It also identifies some risks to competition
arising from various digital platform business models in
different sectors and generates learnings for antitrust
authorities globally on the approach to assessing such
cases. The analysis contributes to the discussion and
learning on competition assessments in the digital economy.
The data also show how different sectors may be prone to
different types of anticompetitive behavior, depending on
the typical business models of digital platforms. Antitrust
authorities in less developed countries should be encouraged
to participate more actively in the debate on data
protection and privacy as a dimension of competition.
Finally, authorities should continue to strive to make their
decisions public and provide clarity about the factors
justifying their decisions. |
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