BRICS countries face common regulatory challenges posed by the increasing dominance of digital platform ecosystems. By fostering dialogue and cooperation between their competition authorities, these nations can aim to develop a unified understanding and symbiotic strategies to tackle these challenges.
On 03 June 2024, Elena Rovenskaya, Program Director for Advancing Systems Analysis (ASA) presented at the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) webinar on Competition law and policy approaches towards digital platforms and ecosystems organized jointly by the BRICS Competition Law and Policy Centre, Brazilian Administrative Council for Economic Defense (CADE), FGV Rio, and IIASA.
In her presentation, Rovenskaya introduced the perspective that digital platform ecosystems (DPEs) function as complex adaptive systems (CAS). She argued that the intrinsic value co-creation by multiple agents within DPEs could be better understood by applying tools and methods from systems sciences and ecology. Rovenskaya discussed how management strategies used in other CAS, such as natural ecosystems, could inspire innovations in designing new regulatory strategies or theories of harm that better address the complexity of DPEs. She emphasized that adopting an ecological worldview could help to better manage the challenges facing competition authorities in the digital economy.
Alexey Ivanov, Director of the BRICS Competition Law and Policy Center, presented on the inadequacies of existing competition policies in addressing the influence and economic power of the largest tech ecosystems. Ivanov noted that competition authorities are falling into a 'mechanistic trap' by regulating components of DPEs without considering the entire ecosystem. He too highlighted the need for a new, harmonized worldview of the digital economy which takes into consideration the systems' entirety including its synergistic and dynamic interactions.
Rovenskaya and Ivanov delivered their presentations as part of the ECOANTITRUST project, a joint initiative by ASA and the BRICS Competition Law and Policy Centre.
The webinar drew on key aspects of the report by the BRICS Competition Authorities on the digital economy in BRICS launched in 2024. It invited presentations from competition law experts and policymakers from Brazil, South Africa, the UK, and elsewhere to share concerns and insights into best practices for digital competition policy and in particular, developments in new theories of harm and merger policies for digital players.
To watch the webinar session hosted by UNCTAD, click here.
To read the 2024 Report by BRICS Competition Authorities, click here.
