On 10 Mar. 2023, China’s State Administration for Market Regulation (SAMR) issued the amended Provisions on Prohibiting Monopoly Agreements (hereinafter the “Provisions”, 禁止垄断协议规定).
This amendment comes only one year after China amended the Provisions in March 2022.
According to the Provisions, “monopoly agreement” means an agreement, a decision, or any other act in concert to exclude or restrict competition.
The amendment mainly regulates the monopoly of Internet platforms. Among others, the following new elements are noteworthy.
- Competitive operators shall not use data, algorithms, technologies, platform rules, etc., to communicate with each other, exchange sensitive information, and coordinate behaviors, since it constitutes a monopoly agreement.
- Operators shall not use data, algorithms, technologies, platform rules, etc., to unify, restrict, or automatically set commodity prices, since it also constitutes a monopoly agreement.
- Operators who proactively report to anti-monopoly law enforcement institutions about the monopoly agreement and offer important evidence may apply for mitigation of or exemption from punishment according to the law.
Cover Photo by Lin Lone on Unsplash
Contributors: CJO Staff Contributors Team
