Joanna Mazur (University of Warsaw, Faculty of Management) has posted Expert Knowledge in Antitrust Enforcement Concerning Digital Markets: Between Economic Authority and Epistemic Power on SSRN. Here is the abstract:
• The article analyses the interplay between the economic authority of the enforcers and the epistemic power of the platforms, based on an empirical study of the use of expert evidence in the Federal Trade Commission v. Meta Platforms, Inc. case and the European Commission’s decision in the Facebook/WhatsApp merger.
• The dogmatic part of the analysis demonstrates how recent case law developments at the Court of Justice of the European Union have resulted in standards concerning expert evidence aligning with Rule 702 of the Federal Rules of Evidence.
• The empirical study examines the references made in the selected cases to show how the epistemic power held by the platform and the economic authority held by the court and the European Commission shape the approach to the company’s behavior.
• The findings show that in cases where the epistemic power of the platform is of high importance, exercising the economic authority of the court or of the enforcer depends heavily on the expertise provided by the platform.
• The article discusses two solutions to this challenge: the regulatory response and the measures that could be developed within an antitrust framework, such as expanding the understanding of expertise, including other stakeholders in proceedings, and developing the enforcers’ in-house expertise.
Recommended!
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