大型数字平台扼杀式并购的监管难题与纾解

Regulatory Challenges and Relief for Large Digital Platforms’Strangling Mergers and Acquisitions

随着数字经济的快速发展,大型数字平台为消除潜在竞争,针对初创企业发起的扼杀式并购,对传统经营者集中的规制带来新的挑战。《中华人民共和国反垄断法》对此类并购在识别、评估与事后救济等方面均表现出滞后性。为此,首先引入交易额与特定平台通知义务完善申报标准;然后,采用“举证责任倒置”、建立专门数字执法部门优化并购审查方式;最后,采用行为性救济措施,并辅助采取结构性救济,构建对扼杀式并购的长效监管。

With the rapid development of digital economy,the strangulation mergers and acquisitions initiated by large digital platforms against startups to eliminate potential competition have brought new challenges to the regulation of traditional operator concentration.Currently,Anti monopoly Law of the People’s Republic of China shows lagging effect on such mergers and acquisitions in terms of identification,assessment and ex post relief.In order to prevent disorderly expansion of capital and maintain the competitiveness of the market,the declaration standard should be improved by introducing the transaction amount and the obligation to notify specific platforms firstly.Then,the“reversal of the burden of proof”and the establishment of a special digital law enforcement department should be adopted to optimize the review of mergers and acquisitions.Finally,behavioral remedies are adopted for M&A behaviors identified as having the attribute of“strangulation”,and structural remedies are also adopted to build a long-term regulation of strangulated M&A.