数字经济时代互联网平台自我优待的反垄断规制进路

Approach to Antitrust Regulations on Self-Preferencing of Internet Platforms in the Digital Economy Era

随着平台经济的兴起,自我优待的规制已经成为全球范围内所共同关注的问题。自我优待具有模式多样化、证明难度高、界定相关市场困难的问题,现行的反垄断法难以完全规制。全球视角下,各国主要是根据平台规模的不同,采用不对称规制的模式,并对“守门人”及类似规则进行立法和适用。在自我优待的认定方式上,应当采取合理原则而非本身违法原则,“守门人”规则的事前规制虽然能够解决相关市场界定的困境但是也存在与反垄断的价值逻辑不符之处。面对自我优待问题,我国可以采取“具体规则 + 兜底条款”的模式,并建立互联网平台透明化机制,在认识到“守门人”规则利好的同时也应当防范可能存在的规制过剩。

With the rise of platform economy, the regulation of self-preferential treatment has become a global issue of common concern. Self-preferential treatment has the problems of mode diversification, high difficulty in proof and difficulty in defining the relevant market, which are difficult to be completely regulated by the existing Anti-monopoly Law. From the global perspective, countries mainly adopt asymmetric regulation based on platform scale, and legislate and apply “gatekeeper” and similar rules. As for the cognizance of self-preferential treatment, we should adopt the principle of reasonableness rather than the principle of per se illegality. Although the ex-ante regulation of “gatekeeper” rule can solve the dilemma of relevant market definition, it is inconsistent with the value logic of antitrust. In the face of the issue of self-preferential treatment, we can adopt the mode of “specific rules + miscellaneous provisions” and establish a transparency mechanism for Internet platforms. When realizing the “gatekeeper” rule is beneficial, we shall also prevent possible regulatory redundancy.