In December issue of Network Industries Quarterly, I summarize the current EU and US approaches towards the digital platforms, and then underline two challenging areas in which competition policy tools should be actively applied.

In fact, the full issue is reserved for an exploration of whether and how digital platforms should and could be regulated. The four contributing authors, all professors, take a step back and look at where we stand in terms of the more academic debate on digital platforms, especially on these platforms that clearly have public (service) implications. In turn, they will apply economic, competition, legal and political perspectives on the regulation of digital platforms and try to derive from there the current state of the debate. 

In my piece I assert that competition policy needs an evolvement to deal with the increasing dominance of the digital platforms. However, radical remedies like breaking up the platforms are not compatible with the nature of platform markets. Nonetheless, constantly fining the platforms for their wrong doings is not an effective way to ensure competition, unless it is applied as a part of a new approach. Maintaining innovation incentives and curbing market power at the same time in platform markets can only be achieved through adopting a new understanding in competition policy.

To read my piece click here.

To read the full issue click here.