Research on Product Blocking from an Antitrust Perspective

Abstract

In the era of digital economy, risks and opportunities coexist. Business practice is constantly changing, and business strategies of Internet enterprises tend to be conservative. In order to maximize user traffic, Internet platform enterprises widely take product blocking measures against their competitors, such as restricting platform access and blocking network connection. These behaviors are profitable, technical and competitive, conducive to helping platforms create economic benefits. But at the same time, they should be regulated by law as they may damage consumers’ rights and interests and hinder fair competition. From an antitrust perspective, relevant markets should be firstly defined to determine whether the platform with blocking behaviors has a dominant position. If the enterprise dominates the relevant markets, whether the dominance is abused ought to be evaluated according to the components of the rejection transaction. Finally, the effect of restricting competition is expected to be accessed with the principle of rationality. Through clarifying the evaluation framework of antitrust law, this paper aims to improve the legislative concept of antitrust law providing a more complete dispute resolution mechanism for China’s judicial practice.