온라인 플랫폼 관련 유럽연합 경쟁법과 경쟁정책— 온라인 플랫폼에 대한 규제 현황을 중심으로 —

The issues relating to online platform have brought competition concerns around the world. In particular, there have been quite a number of legislations and case laws, regarding telecommunications, searching engines, social network services, etc. in the European Union, which affected the overall legal framework of online platform. Moreover, the European Commission adopted the policy of ‘Digital Single Market’ that includes the regulatory approaches to online platform; thus, the topic of online platform became one of the important subjects in the European policy of the Digital Single Market. In particular, the recent Commission’s decisions on Google for its violation of Article 102 of the TFEU highlight the distinctive features of the European competition law approaches that seem to reflect the member states’ reports on the issue of online platform. In addition, the theme of competition law and policy on online platform and the relevant issues of data protection lie at the heart of the European policy on the Digital Single Market. Importantly, it is possible that the European approaches to online platform may influence the development of competition law and policy in a competition regime that has shaped a framework analogous to that in the EU. Therefore, it is timely to discuss the recent development of competition policy on online platform in the EU, thereby helping the Korean policymakers consider the differences and similarities between the two competition regimes. This may improve the implementation of Korean competition law relating to online platform. In effect, regarding the discussion on the general definition of online platform, provided by the Commission, there were several reports by member states, which spell out certain problems from its general definition. This indicates that it is necessary to consider various elements, consisting of economic and legal analyses, for defining the relevant market of online platform, including network effect, rather than a simple statement of defining a general online platform. Furthermore, it is crucial to have an appropriate economic analysis in order to assess the market dominance; this refers that a mere evidence of network effect or market share cannot be an ultimate proof of a market dominant position. Lastly, the appraisal of anti-competitive effects relating to online platform requires the balance or trade-off test of positives and negatives, which is based on the economic principle. Therefore, this article aims to discuss the recent implementation of the European Digital Single Market and the European competition law and policy on online platform.