A Study on the Regulation of Unfair Trade Practices on Online Platforms -Focus on European Union and Japanese Online Platform Act-

Abstract

Under the fourth industrial revolution, online platforms that provide various services to third parties by utilizing information and communication technology or data continue to develop innovative businesses or markets. It plays an important role in the economy and society, such as increasing accessibility to the market for businesses, including small and medium-sized enterprises, and providing benefits for consumers. Services provided by online platform operators are growing through economic characteristics such as data-driven indirect network effects, low marginal costs and economies of scale and scope. A competitive, fair and transparent online ecosystem in which companies act responsibly is also essential for consumer benefits. However, on online platforms, monopolization and oligopoly occur through the platform s data concentration, and the problem of unfair trade between small and medium-sized businesses and online platforms, which are highly dependent on the platform, continues to arise. In particular, online platform operators penalize consumers by acquiring or using personal information by unfair means, and adversely affect fair and free competition. Problems include the abuse of monopoly power of digital platform companies and the self-preferencing such as exposing their products and services to the top of the search rather than other companies brokerage products and services. As a result, countries around the world are organizing or strengthening regulations on online platforms, and the government is also trying to establish a fair and transparent market for online platforms and develop them. In this paper, we examine the types of unfair trade practices on online platforms, and we review relatively the key points of legislation of EU ｢on promoting fairness and transparency for business users of online intermediation services｣, 「Digital Market Act)」,and japanese ｢ Act on the Promotion of Transparency and Fairness of Specific Digital Platforms」.