Regulation of Digital Platforms in Russia

Given the active formation and development of digital platforms in Russia, discussion of possible approaches has intensified and legislative changes have been initiated aimed at improving regulation in platform markets. The Ministry of Economic Development and Bank of Russia have published the Concept of Regulating Digital Platforms and Ecosystems and the report "Ecosystems: Approaches to Regulation," respectively. The competition legislation has been supplemented, primarily within the framework of the Fifth Antimonopoly Package, along with regulations aimed at protecting consumer rights on digital platforms. The Federal Antimonopoly Service of the Russian Federation (FAS Russia) and representatives of business participated in developing tools for digital platforms' self-regulation. The purpose of this article is to analyze approaches to regulation of digital platforms in Russia and to identify difficulties in its development and opportunities for improvement. The study is based on the analysis of legislation and law enforcement practice, scientific articles, and analytical reports. Based on the results of the analysis, the authors make conclusions regarding possible future directions for regulatory developments and proposals for deepening international cooperation. The approach to protecting consumer rights on digital platforms in Russia combines the extension of previously existing norms to the platform economy with the addition of some new norms relating to aggregators of information about goods and services. Antimonopoly regulation follows the same approach, while, as part of the Fifth Antimonopoly Package, rules have been introduced aimed at eliminating illegal practices of dominant platforms and ecosystems. Based on the results of the analysis, the authors forecast further regulatory developments, which may relate to a wide range of aspects, from the unification of terminology and the introduction of new criteria for classifying platforms as dominant to the appointment of platforms' contact points for communication with authorities and consumers and interdepartmental coordination. The authors recommend using the regulatory experience accumulated by both western jurisdictions and partner countries, taking measures to promote Russian approaches at the international level, and intensifying cooperation on the regulation of digital platforms in multilateral formats, primarily in the BRICS group (including Brazil, Russia, India, China, South Africa, and others).