Will banning self-preferencing in digital markets help or hurt?

When searching for clothing on Amazon you may have noticed that the items that come up first are from Amazon Essentials, Amazon Collection and Amazon Aware. That practice — a company favoring its own products over that of its rivals — is known as self-preferencing.

It has come under scrutiny and Congress is considering legislation that would ban it. The bills are aimed at large digital platforms, including Amazon, Alphabet (Google’s parent company), Apple, and Meta.

Insights from Tianxin Zou, John I. Williams Professor of Marketing, says proposed legislation may do more harm than good. 

Read more in this story from the University of Maryland Robert H. Smith School of Business.