Platform Dependence and Exploitation

Abstract

Unfair practices by online platforms have not only exclusionary effects on relevant markets but also exploitative effects on captive business users (and/or individual users). Nevertheless, attention is lopsided with most of the focus having been placed on the exclusionary abuse. With the aim of provoking a further discussion on the platform’s exploitative conduct, this paper seeks to clarify the state of the economic dependence of business users on online platforms and exploitative practices by those platforms, mainly against business users, from the point of view of EU competition law. Through this study, the authors aim at contributing to the conceptual development of the power to exploit customers/suppliers and the dominance threshold in exploitative abuse cases under Art.102(a) TFEU.