Public Law Studies Quarterly

New Antitrust Approaches to Online Platforms

Document Type : Article

Authors

Ali Bahadori 1
Mohammad Sadegh Farahani 2
Mohammad Mahdi Jafarian 3
Reza Ghasemipour 4

1 Phd Candidate

2 Post-doctoral Researcher, Department of Public Law, Faculty of Law, Tarbiat Modares University, ‎Tehran, Iran‎

3 Director of Development and Competitiveness Studies Center, Tehran, Iran‎

4 Pre-doctoral Research Assistant, London School of Economics, London, England‎

https://doi.org/10.22059/jplsq.2024.370291.3540
Abstract
The capacities of the digital economy and platform ecosystems, in relation to the adoption of new business models and practices by businesses, have posed serious challenges to competition law and its traditional regulations. These regulations today are unable to confront novel anti-competitive behaviors that are incompatible with previously recognized practices, and this has led different countries, while drafting separate normative documents, to identify these behaviors and establish rules to address them. The present study, using library research and a descriptive-analytical approach with a comparative perspective, has concluded that the root causes of such anti-competitive behaviors on digital platforms can be traced to three key factors: First, the infrastructural nature and self-regulatory capability of platforms, which has caused two anti-competitive behaviors: denial of platform access and restriction of interoperability with other platforms. Second, platform access to data and related technologies, which has enabled guidance and interference in users’ autonomy and unintended or autonomous coordination. Finally, the leverage capability of platforms, which has led to novel anti-competitive behaviors such as self-preferencing and using data in other markets.

Keywords

digital economy
algorithm
platform
competition law
anti-competitive practices
artificial intelligence
Subjects

  1. English

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    1. D) Judicial opinion
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    1. E) Acts & Regulations
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    1. B) Articles
    2. Rahbari, I. (2023). Algorithmic price collusion: a comparative study in the competition laws of the United States, the European Union, and Iran. Comparative law studies. 14(1), 269-290. http://dx.doi.org/10.22059/JCL.2023.345558.634394 (In Persian).
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    6. Kodkhodaei, A. A., Rostami, W., & Farahani, M. S. (2023 [b]). Rules governing the regulation of prerequisites for applying competition rules in digital platforms; Pathology of traditional criteria and providing new solutions. Legal studies. 15 (3), 337-382. 10.22099/jls.2023.44359.4775 (In Persian).
Public Law Studies Quarterly
Volume 55, Issue 4 - Serial Number 44
Winter 2026
Winter 2026
Pages 2805-2835

  • Receive Date 26 May 2024
  • Revise Date 21 October 2024
  • Accept Date 11 November 2024

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