Contestability and fairness in digital market. An European law vision

Abstract

This paper analyzes the European regulation of core platform service providers, which due to their position in the digital market have been designated by the European Commission as gatekeepers. The Digital Markets Act imposes several obligations and prohibitions on these entrepreneurs, creating a market legal system parallel to traditional Competition Law. The Digital Markets Act explicitly claims to be the guarantor of the contestability and fairness of the digital market, which basically means that it assumes that Competition Law is unable to safeguard these values. After introducing the protagonist of the regulation, delving into the requirements that justify the consideration of the service provider as a gatekeeper and the characteristics of the digital market, the main obligations imposed on these new economic actors are examined. Finally, we will examine the relationship between the Digital Markets Act and Competition Law, questioning the advisability of enacting a regulation outside this sector of the legal system, instead of addressing its comprehensive reform to take into account the specificities of the digital sector.