A PYMNTS Company

The Market Dominance of US Digital Platforms: Antitrust Implications for the European Union

By  |  May 31, 2017

Posted by Social Science Research Network

    Get the Full Story

    Complete the form to unlock this article and enjoy unlimited free access to all PYMNTS content — no additional logins required.

    yesSubscribe to our daily newsletter, PYMNTS Today.

    By completing this form, you agree to receive marketing communications from PYMNTS and to the sharing of your information with our sponsor, if applicable, in accordance with our Privacy Policy and Terms and Conditions.

    The Market Dominance of US Digital Platforms: Antitrust Implications for the European Union

    By Stephane Ciriani (ORANGE) & Marc Lebourges (France Telecom)

    Abstract:     The persistent dominance of US digital platforms relates to strategies that can be justified on efficiency grounds. However, these strategies might also offset competition and have ambiguous welfare effects. Overall, though, the economic literature does not provide a clear theoretical ground for a systematic regulation of their dominance, rather it advocates a targeting of specific unlawful anticompetitive practices. The examination of the rationale of major antitrust cases vis-à-vis global digital platforms suggests that EU authorities should adjust their doctrine and practice of competition policy to make it closer to the US approach. This realigning would serve the purpose of building a competitive EU digital ecosystem and a more balanced and efficient worldwide competition between all digital providers. In addition, EU competition authorities should also support price caps as welfare enhancing forms of cooperation, which could allow the emergence of platform pricing strategies within competitive markets and not only within monopolies.

    Continue Reading…