Middlemen Forever: Competition and Opportunism in the Digital Economy
4 Concurrences 30 (Nov. 2021)
9 Pages Posted: 30 Nov 2021
Date Written: November 25, 2021
Abstract
Powerful intermediaries represent two old symbols of evil: middlemen and monopolies. Their power is arguably a product of unlawful monopolization and their practices are arguably unfair, unjust, and exploitative. Such beliefs have been guiding the present surge of populist demonization of digital intermediaries. This paper argues that contemporary antitrust populists excessively rely on symbols and erroneously treat alleged opportunistic intermediation as a form of monopolistic conduct.
Keywords: Antitrust, digital economy, digital platforms, digital ecosystems, digital intermediaries, online platforms, online economy, online monopolies, monopolization
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