Der Einsatz von Preisalgorithmen und das Marktmachtmissbrauchsverbot

The dissertation explains the abuse of market power caused by using price algorithms between digital e-commerce platforms and the platform’s retailers. In addition to a brief introduction to the technical basics and the advantages and disadvantages of the usage of price algorithms, the thesis discusses the competitive characteristics of e-commerce platforms and analyzes the relationship between them and the retailers. The effects of the use of algorithms on market power and the interaction with the available data are analyzed. The analysis culminates in an examination of the possible abuses under antitrust law by usage of a price algorithm. The attribution of these abuses to the platforms is also discussed shortly. Subsequently, solutions for dealing with the use of algorithms and general existing problems while dealing with digital platforms are developed and evaluated.