DISRUPTIVE INCUMBENTS: PLATFORM COMPETITION IN AN AGE OF MACHINE LEARNING

Recent advances in machine learning have reinforced the competitive position of leading online platforms. This Essay identifies two important sources of platform rivalry and proposes ways to maximize their competitive potential under existing antitrust law. A nascent competitor is a threatening new entrant that, in time, might become a full-fledged platform rival. A platform's acquisition of a nascent competitor should be prohibited as an unlawful acquisition or maintenance of monopoly. A disruptive incumbent is an established firm-often another platform-that introduces fresh competition in an adjacent market. Antitrust enforcers should take a more cautious approach, on the margin, when evaluating actions taken by a disruptive incumbent to compete with an entrenched platform.