« Taiwan Journal of Political Science No.94Publish: 2022/12

The Formation and Oversight of the Gatekeeper’s Power under the European Union’s Digital Markets Act

Author: Jui-jen Peng

Abstract / Chinese PDF Download

The large-scale international online digital platforms that have emerged in recent years have permeated the public sphere, with the majority of them benefiting from the network effects of specific industries that integrating them into their own ecosystems. These platforms have been an integral part of the digital economy as they facilitate a large number of transactions between end users and businesses. However, they also extensively track, profile, and archive end users. Some platform operators have added multiple functions to serve as digital “gatekeepers” between end users and businesses. The operators of such platforms typically occupy a recognized and fixed position. This position is based on the accumulated operations surrounding the core platform service system. As a result, platform operators have created barriers and restrictions that hinder new operators attempting to enter the market of a particular industry. The goal of the EU’s “Digital Markets Act” is to strengthen the EU’s market supervision mechanism prior to any further expansion of the market dominance of various digital platforms. This effectively reduces the restrictions on investor autonomy imposed by online intermediary service providers, search engines, software stores, and other digital service providers. It also increases the likelihood of citizen participation and collaboration on platform governance while also ensuring market competitiveness and fairness. These digital gatekeepers have extensive control over the digital market and regulate user behavior through platform-defined norms, causing users to become overly reliant on the platforms. Furthermore, they foster restrictive market competition between gatekeepers and specific companies, impeding the market’s chance of positive growth. The gatekeeper’s control of the market and abuse of power will result in the disintegration of the EU’s common market if there is no legal regulation at the EU level. To that end, this article examines how the EU uses the “Digital Markets Act” to proactively regulate gatekeepers and prevent them from undermining market competitiveness, depriving personal and business users of autonomy, interfering with the free operation of the digital market, and violating the rights and interests of European consumers. The normative power of digital platforms provides a theoretical framework for investigating how digital gatekeepers gain market power, how to supervise gatekeeper abuse of power, and the potential regulatory effects of the “Digital Markets Act.”

Keywords:Digital Markets、Digital Markets Act、Gatekeeper、Normative Power、Personal Autonomy