Abstract:
From the perspective of the power, the monopoly of platform operators essentially revolves around the platform power. Platform operators leverage intrinsic mechanisms related to data, platforms, capital and technology, and rely on the transfer and absence of public power, as well as the dependence and compliance of private rights, to continuously accumulate and consolidate their platform powers. The emergence of monopoly risks of the platform operators stems from the abuse of platform power. The decentralized, quasi-public, and opaque nature of the platform power leads to the expansion, complexity, and ambiguity of platform monopoly risks. In response to these risks, the governance paradigm under the traditional binary structure faces practical dilemmas, such as a narrow scope of governance subject, ambiguous governance targets, and outdated governance methods. Therefore, it is necessary to establish a new governance paradigm under the ternary structure, achieving a dynamic equilibrium among public authority, platform power and private rights. Following this governance paradigm, it is necessary to reshape the path to manage platform operator monopoly risks. In terms of governance subjects, a multi-stakeholder collaborative model should be embraced to mitigate the proliferation of monopoly risks; in terms of governance targets, a graded and categorized approach should be implemented to address the complexity of monopoly risks by classifying platform power and monopoly behaviors; in terms of governance methods, a combination of legal and technological governance should be employed to resolve the ambiguity of monopoly risks.