Spring 2020, Volume 3, Number 2

What is self-preferencing? The term has entered the antitrust lexicon in the wake of recent investigations into the conduct of large technology companies. In essence, it refers to situations where a company with multiple activities uses its position in one market to favor its activities in another.

But is this something new? Self-preferencing is closely related to other categories of monopolization, notably refusals to supply and discriminatory conduct. The rules governing these categories of conduct have developed over time, with decisionmakers and courts elaborating specific criteria to distinguish abusive conduct from competition “on the merits.”