直播带货模式下PMFN条款的反垄断法规制困境及对策

Difficulties and countermeasures of antitrust law regulation of PMFN clause under livestreaming

直播带货模式下,主播方与品牌方达成的互联网平台最惠国条款会产生减损市场竞争、裹挟品牌方经济自主权、损害消费者权益的限制竞争效应。职是之故,适用反垄断法对其进行规制具有必要性。在我国现行反垄断法框架下,直播带货模式PMFN条款存在纵向垄断协议与滥用市场支配地位两条可选规制路径。若选择纵向垄断协议这一规制路径,宜参考借鉴美国和欧盟的实践经验,结合平台经济特点,更新代理人独立性判断标准以应对“代理例外”原则可能带来的规制障碍。若选择滥用市场支配地位这一规制路径,针对其相关市场界定难题,首先须以获利来源、交互密切程度、争议发生领域为标准确定需求主体,其次宜分析复合型需求的分离可行性以明确基准需求,最后再展开需求替代性分析以明晰相关产品市场范围。

Under the background of livestreaming,the most favored nation clause of the platform agreed between the anchor and the brand can have a negative effect on competition by detracting from market competition,holding the brand’s economic autonomy hostage and harming consumer rights.Therefore,it is necessary to apply the anti-monopoly law to regulate it.Under the current anti-monopoly law framework in China,there are two alternative regulatory paths for the PMFN clause under the background of livestreaming:vertical monopoly agreement and abuse of dominant market position.If we choose the regulatory path of vertical monopoly agreement,it is advisable to absorb the practical experience of the United States and the European Union,combine with the characteristics of the platform economy,and update the criteria for judging the independence of agents to cope with the possible regulatory obstacles brought by the“agency exception”principle.If the regulatory path of abuse of dominant position is chosen,firstly,the demand subject should be determined by the source of profit,the degree of interaction and the area of dispute,secondly,it is advisable to analyze the feasibility of separating the composite demand to clarify the benchmark demand,and thirdly,the demand substitution analysis should be conducted to clarify the market scope of the relevant products.