Entering the 21st century: Competition Policy in the World of B2B Electronic Marketplaces

B2Bs are business-to-business electronic marketplaces that use the Internet to electronically connect businesses to each other. They have been characterized as the new business development most likely to transform how business is conducted in the twenty-first century. Largely unheard of only a few years ago, B2Bs are now estimated to handle billions of dollars in purchases, and although it is difficult to gauge the reliability of such predictions, some estimate that the volume of commerce transacted through B2Bs will reach into the trillions of dollars over the next five years.Given the importance of this new business development, the Federal Trae Commission drew upon its unique mission to study competition and work with the business community and others to detect new trends and hosted a B2B public workshop. Competition Policy in the World of B2B Electronic Marketplaces, on June 29 and 30, 2000. Organized by staff of Policy Planning with input from more than 200 sources, the workshop included 65 panelists and had an attendance of over 600 people. Participants included entrepreneurs who have been operating or forming B2Bs and antitrust practitioners, economists, and legal scholars who have been working with or studying B2Bs. Approximately 30 statements were submitted in response to the FTC\u27s request for comments