FRAND for Dominant Digital Platforms: Enhancing the Way Essential Inputs are Accessed, Transferred and Shared

Abstract

Abstract Dominant digital platforms (DDPs) are dynamic and can control the market with the aid of features such as network externalities, economies of scale and scope and the accumulation of inputs including data and algorithms. In this competitive imbalance, new companies face a greater challenge to enter the market, which in turn reinforces concentration. Different policy proposals have been discussed to address these issues and to enhance access to as well as transfer and sharing of essential inputs between DDPs and other market players. One proposal has been to apply the fair, reasonable and non-discriminatory (FRAND) model, traditionally used in the information and communication technology (ICT) sector in the context of DDPs. Considering the evolving nature of digital markets and the peculiarities of DDPs, the paper analyses the role of FRAND in providing access to crucial data and other essential inputs among digital market players.