电商平台“变相强制”的认定——以新修订的《反不正当竞争法》第14条为中心

Identification of “Indirect Coercion” in E-Commerce Platforms—Centering on Article 14 of the Newly Revised “Anti-Unfair Competition Law”

摘要: 新修订《反不正当竞争法》第14条将平台经营者“强制或者变相强制”平台内经营者以低于成本价格销售商品纳入规制，为治理平台“内卷式”竞争提供了明确依据，但“变相强制”的规范内涵与认定边界仍不清晰。电商平台“变相强制”应被归纳为附条件参与、技术塑造与成本风险转嫁三种形态，并与合理平台治理和正常促销行为相区分，最终限缩适用于实质剥夺或者显著减损独立定价权、并足以扰乱正常竞争秩序的情形。

Abstract: Article 14 of the newly revised “Anti-Unfair Competition Law” regulates platform operators’ practices of “forcing or indirect coercion” merchants within their platforms to sell goods below cost prices, providing clear legal grounds for addressing “involutionary competition” on digital platforms. However, the regulatory definition and identification criteria for “indirect coercion” remain ambiguous. E-commerce platforms’ “indirect coercion” should be categorized into three forms: conditional participation, technological manipulation, and cost risk transfer. These should be distinguished from reasonable platform governance and normal promotional activities, and ultimately limited to situations that substantially deprive or significantly diminish independent pricing power and are sufficient to disrupt normal competition.