Competition law based considerations regarding the attempt for regulating the technological giants

A comparative analysis of the initiatives in the USA and Europe

Abstract

In the centre of the recent legal discourse regarding the freedom of expression lies the phenomenon of the emergence of ‘ new media’. The main research interest focuses on the liability of the intermediary platforms and the possible methods of content regulation. So far, less attention has been devoted to the underlying reasons for the extraordinary advancement of the large intermediary platforms – the core reason of which, however, could be understood more accurately by applying competition law concepts. This paper aims to contribute to the media law discourse by providing an analysis using the relevant antitrust law notions, and presenting the prominent case law. The article also reflects the challenges of the merger control practice, which failed to decelerate the evolution of the extraordinary market concentration based predominantly on the dynamic online advertising market and market definition issues. This paper argues that the conflict between ‘media pluralism’ and ‘market concentration’ becomes more intense in the platform economy due to the rise of the gatekeeper platforms. Given the above prerequisites, the recent regulatory initiatives to enhance the burden on merger control concerning the large platforms, initiated on both sides of the Atlantic, seem to be forward-looking yet remain as an unsatisfactory solution to the problem itself.