A Basic Overview of Interoperability as a Remedy for Digital Social Platforms

Abstract

The dominance of big tech platforms has prompted renewed antitrust scrutiny, particularly in markets characterized by strong network effects. These markets are particularly prone to “winner-take-all” effects which may reduce competition and position a single firm to dominate. Court-ordered remedies such as divestitures and behavioral constraints may not be best suited to mitigate network effects. Instead, this paper investigates historical examples of interoperable remedies that have been applied in the past to overcome entry barriers erected by network effects by pushing their advantages to the level of the market. While interoperability alone may not suffice to restore competition, it presents a promising and cost-effective tool for addressing the monopolistic tendencies fueled by network effects in digital markets.