Can the Platform Operator, Who Acts as a Provider on His Own Platform, Favor Himself over Third-Party Providers?

Abstract

Certain platform operators serve as both suppliers of goods on the platform and sources of business opportunities. Platforms on which the operator himself is a provider, i.e. his own user, is referred to as hybrid or dual-role platforms. The platform operator can set and enforce the platform rules itself. Unfair treatment can take many forms, from a modification of the product ranking to the removal of products or the supplier from the platform. The ranking of products on the platform must necessarily put one provider’s product ahead of another’s and the platform operator must regulate in some way which providers are allowed on the platform and which are excluded from the platform. Thus, the question is whether these rules and their enforcement must be objectively justified or whether the platform operator can act on its own. This article discusses the concept of ‘self-favoring.’ Whether private law places restrictions on this kind of action or if the platform operator has the right to handle independently will be analyzed below. The analysis aims to furnish details regarding the operator’s essential powers on his platform, which are a manifestation of the notably partial exercise of regulatory power.