On this page, you will find all resources related to past events hosted by DMC Forum including recordings, recaps and various reports and working papers. 

Acquisitions by BigTech companies has become an area of intensive debate, both academically and in practice. Following an academic study on acquisitions by pharma companies, which revealed that about 9% of the acquisitions were done primarily with the intent to discontinue the innovation projects and eliminate potential competition, a similar intent behind the many acquisitions from established dominant platform companies is being presumed by many commentators. Is this the case?

There are many open questions thus as per the objectives, effects, as well as implementation criteria of self-preferencing: will platform neutrality stimulate more competition? Which type of competition? Will it provide more incentives for business users to innovate? How will it affect the incentives of platform providers to innovate on the core and ancillary services?…

The panel investigated how algorithms and data contribute to platform governance and discuss the effects on competition among platform participants, and the policy implications.

In our DCM Forum Annual Event we re-launch the debate on platform regulation by taking a step back and asking this more profound question:

 “What are good principles of platform regulation in digital markets?”

The workshop will explore the policy implications of different business models (ads-based, transactions, subscriptions…), the potential harm related to them (presumed, actual, potential) and the impact on competition, on and between platforms

The workshop revisits the concept of platform envelopment, the value creation nature of data aggregation and repurposing in the context of digital platform ecosystems as well as the potential role of data for platform monopolistic entrenchment, and the policy implications.

The workshop explores the different nature of digital markets and the role of heterogenous consumer preferences and multihoming for platform dominance, and competition and policy implications by discussing the following issues:

  • Which markets are subject to tipping? What evidence do we have?
  • Under what circumstances/factors is the market more likely to tip for a platform?
  • Is tipping the same as entrenchment?
  • When is tipping harmful to consumers?  
  • When is “ex ante” intervention from regulators suitable? What are the criteria for establishing when intervention is needed and for determining the scope of such intervention?

DMC Forum convenes leading scholars, policymakers and experts on platform competition and data infrastructure design to discuss the issues associated with the competitive dynamics in digital markets, the principles and criteria that should guide regulatory intervention, as well as the tradeoffs implied by some of the regulatory measures being proposed, and possible ways to move forward.

DMC Forum hosts its second digital event bringing together academic experts to discuss the role of data in the digital economy, the challenges with current data practices and the economic, innovation and competition impact of the proposed measures.