从经济学视角解读数字平台的反不正当竞争法适用

Comparing Anti-Unfair Competition Policies from an Economic Perspective:Implications for the Digital Platform

在许多国家,反不正当竞争法是保护消费者和企业的正当权益、维护公平竞争的重要工具,其执法范围广泛,深入到各种商业活动当中。高科技以及平台产业的一些经营战略和商业行为对反不正当竞争法的执法提出了新的挑战。鉴于反不正当竞争法在亚太地区的历史背景和中国数字经济迅猛发展的现状,中国《反不正当竞争法》的修订对中国数字经济的发展影响尤其重大。本文首先总结各主要国家将哪些行为视为不正当竞争行为,以及各国的执法情况。其次,本文试图说明反不正当竞争执法应当遵循的基本经济学原则。鉴于数字平台的复杂性,本文接着详细介绍了数字平台内部竞争和平台之间竞争的重要特征。然后,本文就数字经济可能涉及的反不正当竞争的具体问题进行了讨论。最后,本文从经济学角度出发,为中国《反不正当竞争法》的修订提出一些建议。

In many countries, unfair competition law has functioned as an important tool for protecting consumers and businesses against unfair competitive practices, and often has broad reach into a wide range of business activities. A number of business strategies and practices used by technology firms in the digital economy(especially digital platforms) may be subject to government intervention based on claims of unfair competitive practices, especially in APAC countries. China is revising its anti-unfair competition law which may have sigificant impact on the growth of digital economy in China.This article starts with a summary of various practices deemed to be "unfair" in different countries and their respective enforcement activities, and then highlights general economic principles to help guide appropriate unfair competition enforcement. Given the complexity in digital platforms, the article provides a detailed review of the characteristics of competition within and among digital platforms. It next provides a number of strategic recommendations to address potential applications to digital economy that may come under unfair competition scrutiny, with a focus on online ads. Last, the article provides inputs on the draft revision of China's anti-unfair competition law from the presepctive of providing a well-founded analytical framework regarding unfair competition issues.