Digital Antitrust: Antimonopoly Analysis of the New Platform Economy Law

Aim. To conduct a comprehensive antimonopoly analysis of Federal Law No. 289-FZ dated July 31, 2025 “On Certain Issues of Platform Economy Regulation in the Russian Federation”, to identify systemic regulatory gaps, test the hypothesis that the current regulation of data and algorithms is insufficient, and propose recommendations for enhancing antimonopoly policy in the platform economy. Methods. The research is based on the formal legal method, comparative legal analysis (comparison with Federal Law No. 381-FZ dated December 28, 2009 “On Fundamentals of State Regulation of Trade Activities in the Russian Federation”, the European Digital Markets Act and the German GWB Digitale), as well as methods of economic analysis of law. Results. It is revealed that the Platform Law is a continuation of the ideas of the Trade Law, transferring basic principles of counterparty protection to the digital environment: prohibition of coercion to discounts (Article 9), procedural guarantees for blocking (Articles 13, 14), extended notice periods for contract changes (Article 12). It is established that the law does not address fundamental antimonopoly problems: control over big data, algorithmic discrimination, vertical integration (private labels) and tying of services within ecosystems. The prohibition of scheduled inspections by the Federal Antimonopoly Service (FAS) (Part 4, Article 21) is recognized as a critical drawback, which shifts supervision to reactive mode and reduces enforcement effectiveness. Conclusion. Federal Law No. 289-FZ should be considered as the first stage (“Digital Antitrust 1.0”) in the formation of antimonopoly regulation of the platform economy. Its actual effectiveness will depend on by-laws, judicial practice and the proactive position of the FAS. The necessity of adopting “Digital Antitrust 2.0” is substantiated, which should regulate issues of data access, algorithmic neutrality and prevention of conflicts of interest between infrastructure platforms and seller platforms.

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