CHRIS CHAPMAN: THE LIMITS OF COMPETITION LAW

FAIR CONTRIBUTION?
The rise of the ‘multi-sided platform’ over the last decade has added an entirely new dimension to the long-standing challenges of media governance. Their market dominant positions meant that the natural solution seemed to lie in using competition law, with content plurality guaranteed by plurality of ownership. This approach is challenged in two outstanding contributions from experts in their field. Natascha Just and her team note the deregulation of media concentration rules, while Elisa Giomi points out that it is possible to envisage more plurality from a monopoly aggregating a range of viewpoints than from a competitive environment in which all the media favour a few ‘opinionbearers’. Both Natascha and Elisa suggest that evidence of the success of the competition law approach remains elusive and that, while still necessary, may not be enough. Meanwhile my Australian and ICANN colleague, Paul Twomey, offers a different take on what he sees as an imbalance in the power of digital markets. Rather than consumers being the product, make them into ‘active economic participants’. It is indeed an interesting idea, building on many of the new and existing regulations in the EU.

I’m delighted to welcome our newest IIC members: Starlink, Telstra, Channel 4, the Commission on Television and Radio of Armenia, the Luxembourg Independent Audiovisual Authority and RB Economics. It’s great to have them with us as the phenomenal growth in our membership continues. Finally a reminder that, while I am a director of ICANN, my comments here are made entirley in my IIC role.

Chris Chapman, President, IIC