近日，一篇名為《我被美團會員割了韭菜》的文章衝上微博熱搜，把“大資料殺熟”的問題再次推上輿論的風口浪尖。
該文作者透露，使用美團會員下單和非美團會員下單，結算頁面顯示的預估配送價格存在差異。“一部開通美團外賣會員的手機，附近幾乎所有外賣商戶的配送費，基本都要超出非會員配送費1~5元不等。”
對此，美團外賣今天迴應稱，文中提到的配送費差異與會員身份無關，是定位快取偏差導致。美團同時表示，正在積極改進定位快取的問題。
無獨有偶。今年“雙11”前夕，一名北京消費者也發現，在某電商平臺上，購買同一商家的同樣一件商品，高階會員賬號反而比新註冊賬號多花25塊錢。
“大資料殺熟”的戲碼頻頻上演，許多消費者在社交媒體上表達共鳴——面對同一段行程、同一家酒店，或者同一個商品，基於網際網路公司的使用者畫像，不同的使用者會看到截然不同的價格。北京市消費者協會去年進行的一項調查顯示，超半數受訪者表示曾有過類似遭遇，他們認為網購平臺、線上旅遊和網約車等消費“大資料殺熟”問題最多。
It was the same item on the same e-commerce website. But if one switched accounts, from a VIP account to a newly registered account, the price shown on the page went down 25 yuan.
This is what a Beijing-based consumer found when she tried to join in the Singles Day sales in late October. New visitors were offered bigger discounts while loyal customers were given higher prices. The finding resonates with many consumers' experience — internet companies charge different prices based on data analytics they gather about the individual consumer.
According to a survey done by Beijing Consumers Association in 2019, more than half of those surveyed report that they have been charged higher prices because of their past purchasing decisions. The problem is most commonly found in the field of e-commerce, travel booking and ride-sharing, where a few industry giants have an outsized influence.
過去幾年，網際網路公司呈指數級增長，並開始主導網際網路生態系統。為鞏固市場地位，一些網際網路公司早早收購潛在競爭對手，以鎖定自身市場優勢。隨著行業地位的進一步穩固，這些網際網路公司同時也擁有了海量的使用者資料——透過分析使用者資料，為使用者“精準”推送各種智慧服務並以此獲利。
使用者透過APP進行的大部分行為都在被實時獲取，年齡、喜好和購買力等資訊變成了標籤。演算法可以幫助商家增加新使用者的粘性。
In the past few years, internet companies in China have experienced exponential growth and came to dominate the ecosystem. The top three tech giants, Baidu, Alibaba, and Tencent, now have a combined market worth of more than $1 trillion. While Baidu captures almost 70 percent of the search market in China, Alibaba and Tencent are each the undisputed leaders in e-commerce and gaming.
But as the tech giants came to secure their market position, they locked in their market advantage by acquiring their potential competitors at an early stage. According to CB Insights, those three tech titans have acquired 158 companies over the last two decades. Their large industry presence allowed them to preempt potential threats to their dominance quickly, through measures such as blocking links to apps from other companies.
Increasingly, they tap into the enormous amount of user data they possess and turn them into valuable artificial-intelligence services. Apps are now able to build detailed profiles of each user, including information such as their age, their preference and their purchasing potential. Algorithms developed by the apps allow them to drive user engagement.
隨著我國出臺一系列針對網際網路行業的監管政策，一些公司怕是要“收斂”些了。
今年11月10日，國家市場監督管理總局釋出《關於平臺經濟領域的反壟斷指南(徵求意見稿)》，主要目的是“為了預防和制止平臺經濟領域的壟斷行為，引導平臺經濟領域經營者依法合規經營，促進線上經濟持續健康發展”。
12月14日，市場監管總局公佈阿里收購銀泰股權、閱文收購新麗傳媒股權、豐巢收購中郵智遞股權三起未依法申報違法實施集中案的行政處罰決定書，對阿里、閱文和豐巢分別處以50萬元人民幣罰款的行政處罰。
市場監管總局反壟斷局主要負責人表示，上述三個案件的處罰可以向社會釋放加強網際網路領域反壟斷監管的訊號，還能防止企業藉助併購形成壟斷，或透過收購中小企業等方式扼殺潛在競爭對手、阻礙創新，促進整個行業的健康發展。
Those practices have come under heavier scrutiny as the Chinese government rolled out a series of regulations to curb monopolistic practices from internet giants. The State Administration for Market Regulation unveiled draft guidelines on November 10, announcing that they would look into curbing anti-competitive behaviors rife in the internet industry such as selling goods below cost, imposing price discrimination and requiring sellers to sign exclusivity clauses.
In its latest move, the State Administration for Market Regulation announced Monday that it would fine Alibaba- and Tencent-backed China Literature, for failing to report their past acquisition deals. The merger of game streaming platforms, Huya and Douyu, both backed by Tencent, is also under review.
"The penalty will send an alarm to other industry players that there will be strong antitrust enforcement if acts of violation take place… and it will also stop companies from stymying innovation in addition to promoting healthy development of the industry," said a spokesperson for the market regulator during a press conference.
從全球範圍看，加強平臺經濟領域的反壟斷監管已是大勢所趨。
12月15日，歐盟委員會公佈了《數字服務法案》和《數字市場法案》的草案，意在明確數字服務提供者的責任並遏制大型網路平臺的惡性競爭行為。其中，《數字服務法案》的立法工作早在今年年初就已啟動。
據悉，《數字服務法案》直接指向美國幾大科技巨頭目前存在的突出問題，比如內容稽核問題、不正當競爭行為等。根據該法案，如果科技巨頭的市場主導地位被認為威脅到客戶和較小競爭對手的利益，它們將可能被強制要求分拆或出售部分歐洲業務。
China is playing catch-up in regulating big tech companies. Earlier this year, the European Commission introduced a legislative package known as the Digital Service Act to regulate big online platforms. In the U.S., there have been ongoing debates about the need to loosen some of the existing antitrust doctrines to enable U.S. courts to address anticompetitive practices by digital platforms.
It is a rare consensus among states around the world today that technology companies are growing too big and too powerful. This week, the EU unveiled two landmark legislations amid a long-planned clampdown on Big Tech.
“ 大家都知道，一旦在某個領域形成壟斷，它就會妨礙競爭，損害消費者權益，最終也會損害公平以及創新。而強化競爭，其實就是要做到千帆競發，百舸爭流，把創新動能釋放出來。市場主體活躍了，消費者就會有更多選擇權，經濟迴圈起來也就更活絡了。”