Abstract

The proposition that certain digital platforms act as ‘regulators’ within their own business models is a key pillar of the European Commission report on Competition Policy for the Digital Era, and the basis upon which its authors build a wide-ranging duty for dominant platforms to secure competition that is ‘fair, unbiased and pro-users’. This article seeks to shed light on this novel contention, exploring its meaning and the implications for platform operators. It considers the rationale provided within the report and compares the approach with established Article 102 TFEU case law, specifically the ‘special responsibility’ doctrine. Consideration is further given to whether the platforms-as-regulators notion aligns with alternative modes of regulation within the digital sphere. The aim is to explore whether this approach is coherent, and actually useful, as a means by which to frame and direct future enforcement against digital platforms.

中文翻译：

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平台作为监管者

摘要

某些数字平台在其自己的商业模式中充当“监管者”的主张是欧盟委员会关于数字时代竞争政策的报告的关键支柱，以及其作者为主导平台建立广泛责任以确保“公平、公正和有利于用户”的竞争的基础。本文旨在阐明这一新颖的论点，探讨其含义以及对平台运营商的影响。它考虑了报告中提供的基本原理，并将该方法与既定的第 102 条 TFEU 判例法，特别是“特殊责任”原则进行了比较。进一步考虑平台作为监管者的概念是否与数字领域内的替代监管模式保持一致。目的是探索这种方法是否连贯且实际有用，作为构建和指导未来针对数字平台的执法的一种手段。