Digital Data, Platforms and the Usual [Antitrust] Suspects: Network Effects, Switching Costs, Essential Facility
19 Pages Posted: 11 Feb 2019
Date Written: January 31, 2019
Abstract
This paper asks whether the large amounts of digital data that are typically observed on large technology platforms - such as Google, Facebook, Uber and Amazon - typically give rise to structural conditions that would lead to antitrust concerns. In particular, I evaluate whether digital data augments or decreases concerns with regard to network effects and switching costs. I also evaluate whether data should be thought of as an 'essential facility.'
Keywords: Plaforms, Antitrust, Network Effects, Big Data, Switching Costs
JEL Classification: M1, L1
Suggested Citation: Suggested Citation
Tucker, Catherine E., Digital Data, Platforms and the Usual [Antitrust] Suspects: Network Effects, Switching Costs, Essential Facility (January 31, 2019). Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=3326385 or http://dx.doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.3326385
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