中国官方：平台要求商家“全网最低价”或构成垄断

Core Viewpoint - The Chinese National Market Regulation Administration is accelerating the introduction of the "Antitrust Compliance Guidelines for Internet Platforms," indicating that requiring merchants to offer the "lowest price on the entire network" may constitute abuse of market dominance or monopolistic agreements [1][2] Group 1: Regulatory Actions - The National Market Regulation Administration plans to expedite the release of the "Antitrust Compliance Guidelines for Internet Platforms" to help platform operators identify, assess, and prevent antitrust compliance risks [1] - The guidelines aim to clarify behavioral boundaries for platform operators and enhance their compliance awareness and capabilities in the context of significant antitrust risks in the platform economy [2] Group 2: Market Characteristics - The platform economy exhibits distinct competitive characteristics compared to traditional economies, including significant scale effects and network effects, which facilitate cross-industry competition and rapid expansion [1] - Platform enterprises possess inherent advantages over merchants and consumers, allowing them to set rules, manage data, utilize algorithms, and allocate traffic [1] Group 3: Compliance Guidelines - The guidelines advise platform enterprises with market dominance to avoid implementing "either-or" practices through punitive or incentivizing measures [2] - The requirement for merchants to offer the "lowest price on the entire network" is highlighted as a potential abuse of market dominance or a monopolistic agreement [2] - The guidelines also address risks associated with "algorithm collusion" and encourage platforms to conduct algorithm screening to establish a system for identifying and preventing algorithmic monopolies [2]