The Legislative Definition of the Digital Gatekeepers in the EU and Its Implications
The legislative definition of"digital gatekeeper"is the legal basis for identifying"digital gatekeepers"who control informa-tion.The EU Digital Markets Act adopts a two-step approach to defining gatekeepers:Firstly,it delineates nine main core platform services and one type of subsidiary core platform services;Secondly,the companies that provide core platform services will be identified as gatekeepers when they meet the qualitative and quantitative criteria.For digital platforms that meet the qualitative criteria but do not meet the quantitative criteria,market research must be conducted to comprehensively consider various other factors to decide whether to identify the target digital platform as a gatekeeper,and to make more flexible determinations for platforms below the quantitative thresh-old whose behavior the law still wants to regulate.The definition standard of"digital gatekeeper"in the EU can provide a reference for China to improve relevant legislation to regulate large-scale digital platforms.China should prudently define the scope of digital gate-keepers,refine the concept of"user"and the judgment of"restricted capacity"in the Classification and Grading Guidelines,increase the consideration of the scale of operators on digital platforms and the turnover of digital platforms,and set up flexible identification methods and objection mechanisms.
large-scale digital platformsthe digital gatekeeperthe definition standard