An Introduction to the Competition Law and Economics of 'Free'

Abstract

Many of the largest and most successful businesses today rely on providing service at no charge to at least a portion of their users. Free services often delight users, yet also create a series of challenges for competition policy, including impeding entry, inviting overproduction on quality, and increasing the risk of deception and overpayment. This short paper presents these problems, examines the strategies that entrants can attempt when competing with free service, and considers possible regulatory responses.

Keywords: two-sided markets, zero pricing, antitrust, competition, Internet, disruptive innovation, platforms, data

JEL Classification: D42, K10, K21, L12, L21, L41