Competition Law and Policy in Digital Markets

This book provides a critical comparative analysis of the application of competition law in digital markets in the EU and China. It discusses the challenges posed to competition law enforcement by these new dynamics and proposes additional regulatory tools to tackle them.

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The advent of digital technologies has transformed markets and resulted in unprecedented levels of market concentration, with a handful of digital giants controlling the provision of many goods and services. Against these changing market dynamics, Competition Law and Policy in Digital Markets: A Comparative Analysis of the EU and China provides a critical comparative analysis of the application of competition law in digital markets in the EU and China.

The book deciphers how these two key competition law jurisdictions apply their respective competition laws against different digital giants and the potential impact of those applications in the evolution of digital markets. This book first maps the characteristics of digital markets and the challenges they raise for competition law enforcement and, second, critically discusses decisional practice and policy developments in the EU and China. The discussion identifies potential competition law problems in the digital economy and covers various types of anti-competitive conduct at the intersection of consumer, data protection and competition law. It also identifies contentious cases, querying whether competition law can act as a gap filler or whether other regulatory tools are better suited to address such problems.

Pioneering and timely, Competition Law and Policy in Digital Markets examines the challenges posed to competition law enforcement by these new dynamics. The similarities and divergent approaches between competition law enforcers in the EU and China are examined in a bid to contribute to a more transparent debate between the two.