This book investigates how the shift toward private governance and self-regulation by online platforms impacts the enforcement of European Union consumer protection standards and contractual fairness. Vanessa Mak, a professor of private law, utilizes a legal-analytical framework to examine the tension between state-mandated regulations and the autonomous rule-making power of digital intermediaries. By analyzing the operational models of major platforms, the author argues that the increasing reliance on private ordering necessitates a re-evaluation of how EU legal objectives are maintained in a borderless digital marketplace.

Legal scholars and practitioners recognize this work as a significant contribution to the discourse on the intersection of digital markets and private law. Experts frequently highlight the text for its clear articulation of the challenges posed by platform-based self-regulation in the European legal landscape.