In Search of the Regulatory Optimum for Digital Platforms: A Comparative Analysis

The rapid growth of digital platforms and ecosystems has become a significant economic phenomenon on a global scale. This growth is due to the ability of these platforms to provide additional and flexible opportunities that are mutually beneficial for sellers, buyers, and platform employees. As a result, the activities of digital platforms have a positive impact on the overall gross domestic product (GDP) of countries worldwide. However, the process of legally formalizing this phenomenon is lagging behind the economic development. This is because there is still a need for more effective regulations and policies to secure the safe and fair operation of digital platforms. Despite it, the potential benefits of digital platforms continue to outweigh the risks, making them an essential part of the global economy. Due to the need to investigate how the balance between legal and economic development on digital platforms is maintained, they are conceptualized as a novel form of organizing the exchange of goods and services. The focus of this study is on the regulatory and legal frameworks for digital platforms both in Russia and internationally, as well as on the rights and obligations of owners, operators, and users resulting from their participation in market transactions. The study presented does not include digital platforms used in the public sector or social media and messaging services. Comparative legal, formal logic, formal doctrinal, historical legal, as well as analytical, synthetic, and hermeneutical methods are systematically and integrally applied in this article. Based on the research materials, a hypothesis has been proposed regarding three stages of platform regulation globally and in Russia. During the analysis of the three-stage evolutionary process of legal regulation for e-commerce, it has been found that there is often an inconsistency in the impact of various branches of law. This inconsistency includes gaps and conflicts, which lead to unforeseen benefits for stakeholders instead of a systematic interaction within the regulatory framework. This is particularly evident in the lack of a consistent terminology and uniform regulatory principles that consider the specific characteristics of cross-industry digital economy legislation. Based on the experience of foreign countries and the results of three stages of electronic commerce regulation, within the framework of the third stage, platform economy has enabled authors to propose definite structures necessary for a comprehensive approach to the regulation of multidimensional activities on digital platforms. This concerns branches of civil, tax, competition, information, and administrative laws. Additionally, authors have developed a balanced concept of general principles for the transparent operation of digital platforms and their interaction with society, the state, and economic entities.

e-commerce, digital platforms, platform economy, Big Tech, platform’s intermediary role, legal glossary