Konkurrens och digitalisering - En kritisk granskning av EU:s konkurrensrättspolicy i den digitala eran
(2020) JURM02 20202Department of Law
Faculty of Law
- Abstract (Swedish)
- Digitaliseringen har revolutionerat våra samhällen. Hur vi kommunicerar och interagerar med varandra och hur vi handlar produkter och tjänster har över de senaste åren varit föremål för drastiska förändringar. Bakom dessa förändringar står ett fåtal digitala jättar. Trots att förändringarna har ökat konsumentvälfärden och i regel varit positiva, har farhågor lyfts. Detta har inte minst uppmärksammats inom den konkurrensrättsliga sfären.
Utvecklingen har medfört att ett fåtal stora företag har kunnat agera som grindvakter. Vidare har nätverkseffekter, extrema skalfördelar och databeroende bidragit till att dessa företag har fått en orubblig marknadsposition. Trots att de inte anses vara dominanta i konkurrensrättslig mening, kan de... (More) - Digitaliseringen har revolutionerat våra samhällen. Hur vi kommunicerar och interagerar med varandra och hur vi handlar produkter och tjänster har över de senaste åren varit föremål för drastiska förändringar. Bakom dessa förändringar står ett fåtal digitala jättar. Trots att förändringarna har ökat konsumentvälfärden och i regel varit positiva, har farhågor lyfts. Detta har inte minst uppmärksammats inom den konkurrensrättsliga sfären.
Utvecklingen har medfört att ett fåtal stora företag har kunnat agera som grindvakter. Vidare har nätverkseffekter, extrema skalfördelar och databeroende bidragit till att dessa företag har fått en orubblig marknadsposition. Trots att de inte anses vara dominanta i konkurrensrättslig mening, kan de agera som monopolister. Resultatet har inneburit höjda inträdesbarriärer för uppstartsbolag, högre priser för konsumenter, lägre innovation och valbarhet bland produkter och tjänster samt ett hämmat konkurrensklimat på marknaden.
Därmed har den konkurrensrättsliga debatten intensifierats. Det är tydligt att digitala marknader behöver regleras, dock inte hur det görs bäst. EU har klarligen uttryckt sin ledande roll in i den digitala eran. Följaktligen la kommissionen under hösten fram lagförslag om nya konkurrensverktyg, som utökar kommissionens befogenheter gentemot digitala aktörer.
Digitaliseringen är här för att stanna. För att hantera den snabba samhällsutvecklingen behövs en motsättning. Ett nytt förhållningssätt är väsentligt för skyddet och utvecklingen av den inre marknaden. En översyn av skadeteorier och analysverktyg är tänkbara åtgärder. Nya regleringar bör vara proportionerliga, flexibla och ändamålsenliga. Vidare är det vitalt för den fortsatta konkurrensrättsliga rättsutvecklingen att det system som har utvecklats fram tills nu inte undermineras, trots de omfattande förändringar vi ställts inför. (Less) - Abstract
- Digitalization has revolutionized our societies. How we communicate and interact with one another and how we purchase goods and services has changed drastically. A select few technological giants are the driving force behind these changes. Despite the increase in consumer welfare and the overall heightened standard of living, concerns have been raised, especially within the discourse of competition law policy.
Digitalization has allowed for a handful of undertakings to become gatekeepers, effectively raising the barrier of entry for new companies looking to establish themselves in a specific market. Furthermore, network effects, extreme economies of scope and scale and data dependency have contributed to further entrenching the market... (More) - Digitalization has revolutionized our societies. How we communicate and interact with one another and how we purchase goods and services has changed drastically. A select few technological giants are the driving force behind these changes. Despite the increase in consumer welfare and the overall heightened standard of living, concerns have been raised, especially within the discourse of competition law policy.
Digitalization has allowed for a handful of undertakings to become gatekeepers, effectively raising the barrier of entry for new companies looking to establish themselves in a specific market. Furthermore, network effects, extreme economies of scope and scale and data dependency have contributed to further entrenching the market position of these undertakings. Consequently, they can engage in monopolistic market activity without risking the scrutiny of the European competition law framework. This, in turn, results in raised barriers of entry for startup companies, higher prices for consumers, less innovation and fewer choices for goods and services and an overall less competitive market.
Thus, the public discourse regarding competition law policy has intensified. Clearly, digital markets need to be further regulated. What is not clear, however, is how best to do so. The EU has unmistakably established themselves as a global leader heading into the digital era. As a result, this fall, the Commission presented a proposal regarding a regulation for new competition tools. These would, if implemented, significantly expand the powers of the Commission in digital markets.
The digital era is here to stay. A reaction is therefore is needed to address this fast-paced societal transformation. A new way of thinking is essential to the evolution of the internal market. An overhaul of existing theories of harm and analytical tools might be the path forward. New regulation should adhere to the principal of proportionality, be flexible and justified. Furthermore, it is vital for the continued progress of European competition law that the current system is not undermined, even in the face of rapid change. (Less)
Please use this url to cite or link to this publication:
http://lup.lub.lu.se/student-papers/record/9034650
- author
- Eriksson, Axel LU
- supervisor
- organization
- alternative title
- Competition and Digitalization - A cross examination of EU:s competition law policy in the Digital Era
- course
- JURM02 20202
- year
- 2020
- type
- H3 - Professional qualifications (4 Years - )
- subject
- keywords
- Law, Competition, Digitization, EU-Law
- language
- Swedish
- id
- 9034650
- date added to LUP
- 2021-01-25 12:21:20
- date last changed
- 2021-01-25 12:21:20
@misc{9034650,
abstract = {{Digitalization has revolutionized our societies. How we communicate and interact with one another and how we purchase goods and services has changed drastically. A select few technological giants are the driving force behind these changes. Despite the increase in consumer welfare and the overall heightened standard of living, concerns have been raised, especially within the discourse of competition law policy.
Digitalization has allowed for a handful of undertakings to become gatekeepers, effectively raising the barrier of entry for new companies looking to establish themselves in a specific market. Furthermore, network effects, extreme economies of scope and scale and data dependency have contributed to further entrenching the market position of these undertakings. Consequently, they can engage in monopolistic market activity without risking the scrutiny of the European competition law framework. This, in turn, results in raised barriers of entry for startup companies, higher prices for consumers, less innovation and fewer choices for goods and services and an overall less competitive market.
Thus, the public discourse regarding competition law policy has intensified. Clearly, digital markets need to be further regulated. What is not clear, however, is how best to do so. The EU has unmistakably established themselves as a global leader heading into the digital era. As a result, this fall, the Commission presented a proposal regarding a regulation for new competition tools. These would, if implemented, significantly expand the powers of the Commission in digital markets.
The digital era is here to stay. A reaction is therefore is needed to address this fast-paced societal transformation. A new way of thinking is essential to the evolution of the internal market. An overhaul of existing theories of harm and analytical tools might be the path forward. New regulation should adhere to the principal of proportionality, be flexible and justified. Furthermore, it is vital for the continued progress of European competition law that the current system is not undermined, even in the face of rapid change.}},
author = {{Eriksson, Axel}},
language = {{swe}},
note = {{Student Paper}},
title = {{Konkurrens och digitalisering - En kritisk granskning av EU:s konkurrensrättspolicy i den digitala eran}},
year = {{2020}},
}