Global Challenges for the Online Platform Sector: Regulation or Laissez-Faire? The EU Perspective

The article examines the economic and regulatory challenges created by online platforms and two-sided markets. It discusses network effects, market power, barriers to entry and the benefits and risks associated with services such as Amazon, Airbnb, Booking.com and Uber. Particular attention is paid to price-parity clauses, competition policy, housing-market effects, discrimination and the divergent responses adopted by European states. The authors argue that fragmented national approaches create legal and economic uncertainty and conclude that supranational principles are needed to balance innovation, competition, consumer welfare and social equity in the platform economy.