Green Paper: Digital Platforms

Summary

Social networks on the Internet, comparison and review portals, search engines, sharing platforms, app stores, online marketplaces and media platforms – all these are designated in the current debate as digital or online platforms. The distinct economic feature of digital platforms consists in the systematic collection and evaluation of data and the attendant network effects.

Owing to their broad diversity, it is hardly possible to arrive at a uniform definition for a ‘digital platform’, which is why the various segments need discussing separately. To facilitate a broad discussion, we understand for the purposes of this Green Paper the term digital platform as having a wide meaning: Digital platforms are Internet-based services that draw attention to contents through aggregation, selection and presentation. This also includes media platforms. The debate on these centres primarily on questions of plurality of opinion under broadcasting law, which we shall not, however, deal with here.