18th session 10-12 july 2019 room xvii, palais des ......intergovernmental group of experts on...
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________________________________________________________
Intergovernmental Group of Experts on Competition Law and Policy
18th SESSION
10-12 July 2019
Room XVII, Palais des Nations, Geneva
Wednesday, 10 July, 2019
CompetitionintheDigitalEconomy
NewRealities,NewThinking
Presentation by Professor Caron Beaton-Wells
This material has been reproduced in the language and form as it was provided. The views expressed are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of UNCTAD.
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Competiti0n in the digital economy - new realities, new thinking
Professor Caron Beaton-Wells
UNCTAD IGE ON COMPETITION LAW AND POLICY
10 July 2019
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• An economic puzzle?
• A priority for developing countries?
• A stocktake of responses?
• An emerging consensus?
About this address
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An economic puzzle
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Currently valued atUS$3 trillion
Digital economy
25% of global GDP by 2020,60% by 2022
Current value generated in just 20 years
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Market concentration Slowing productivity growth
Increases in mark upsReduced business dynamism
Wage stagnation
Disturbing trends
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Big Tech = Big (Competition) Problem?
6US top 5 and China’s top 4 currently generate 90% of the digital economy’s revenue and profits
Search
Social networks
Communications
Operating systems
Data storage
Digital advertising
E-commerce
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A developing country priority
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Developing countries and the digital economy
2/3 of 3b internet users
6.5 billion mobile phone subscriptions
Online payment services growing
Google and Facebook working
to connect the next billion users
43% of global digital media
spend
70% buying online
Global players buying local e-
commerce platforms
53% on social media
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A stocktake of responses
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Google: 29
Amazon: 20
Apple: 16
Facebook: 1
Investigations, 2010-to dateTotal: 66
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Policy studies, 2010-to date
Total: 27
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An emerging consensus
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Multi-sidedness Interconnectedness
Massive data collection and use
Consumer inertia
Economies of scope
Network effects
Increasing returns to scale
1. Digital markets are
different
Global reach
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2. Power and competition dynamics
are different
Markets tip
Barriers increase
Incentives change
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Prices? Quality? Innovation?
3. There are risks to consumer
welfare
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4. Competition policy goals don’t need to change
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Broaden market lens
Recognize intermediation or bottleneck power
Focus on non-price effects
5. The toolkit needs to be tweaked
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196. Enforcement needs to be bolder and quicker
Shift in error cost assessment
Interim measures
Lower standards of proof
Reversed burdens
Limited appeal rights
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207. Reform merger control
➢ Between them GAFA have made 400+ acquisitions over the last decade
➢ In 60% of cases, targets are less than 4 years old
➢ Targets are often complements or a source of more data or better data analytics
➢ Adjust notification thresholds to reflect transaction value
➢ Pay attention to data and innovation effects
➢ Give weight to potential competition
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8. There is a role for regulation
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Data portability Platform rules
Open standards Consumer settings
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Final thoughts…
“The future is already here – it's just not very evenly distributed.”