Digital Platforms and Competition Policy: A Business-Ethical Assessment

Abstract The debate around ‘big tech’ and competition law and policy has gained traction over the past few years – not least because of the various ongoing antitrust investigations in China, Europe, and the U.S. This paper builds on the renewed interest in the topic and discusses the key characteristics of digital markets, the business models and strategies of major tech platforms such as Amazon, Apple, Facebook, and Google, and the corresponding antitrust issues. It does so by utilizing a distinct business ethics perspective, i.e., ordoliberalism. By doing so, the paper not only aims to enrich the current debate on big tech and antitrust; it also intends to illustrate the continuing relevance and importance of ‘German neoliberalism’ in the 21st century.