Challenges brought by and in response to algorithms: the perspective of Chinas Anti-Monopoly Law
Wei Han, Yajie Gao, Ai Ping Deng · Edward Elgar Publishing eBooks · 2023
This chapter discusses challenges brought by and in responses to algorithms from the perspective of Mainland China’s anti-monopoly law. By April 2022, the Chinese competition authority has gained some experience in analysing algorithms in two abuse of dominance cases. Since 2018, big data ‘shashu’ has become a buzz phrase in China, which may constitute price discrimination, a type of abuse of dominance. In addition to price discrimination, algorithms might also facilitate collusion. Chinese competition authorities that generally practiced discrimination and collusion in the past may provide some references for the future anti-monopoly regulation of algorithmic price discrimination and algorithmic collusion. Relevant legislative studies have explicitly listed algorithmic collusion as a form of anti-competitive agreement. The existing Chinese anti-monopoly law does not provide the legal basis for imposing comprehensive and effective remedies. Some challenges also exist in supervising the implementation of the proposed remedies, such as requiring algorithms to be more transparent. Thus, we put forward several proposals accordingly.