China’s market regulator, the State Administration for Market Regulation (SAMR), is now soliciting public comments on the draft revision of the country’s Anti-Unfair Competition Law. This is the latest amendment to the law — the last two were in 2017 and 2019 — since it was enacted in 1993. The proposed rules for banning exclusive dealing and big-data-enabled price discrimination against existing customers became a hot topic of debate immediately after the draft was released. Regulating unfair competition in the digital economy is a rather pressing issue, but unfair competitive practices remain widespread. There is also persistent weakness in law enforcement and its supervision. It is not wise to interpret the law restrictively. Revisions to this law should target more lofty goals.
The draft legislation has improved rules for the digital economy. Article 4 stipulates that China should improve rules guarding against unfair competition in the digital economy. Businesses are prohibited from engaging in unfair competition by exploiting their advantages in data, algorithms, technology, capital and platform rules. The second chapter — Acts of Unfair Competition — makes a detailed list of prohibited acts. With the Internet Special Article, or Article 12, added in the 2017 revision and the country’s ongoing crackdown on internet companies, it is easy to see that internet-related provisions have gotten a lot of attention.
