The Digital Competition Bill and Big Tech in India: A Regulatory Turning Point

The Fight Between A Global Technology Behemoth Like Google And Multiple Indian Enterprises Began Years Ago When App Developers Filed A Complaint With The Competition Commission Of India (Cci). The Case Accused Google Of Exploiting Its Dominant Position In The Android And Play Store Ecosystems. Specifically, The Search Engine Was Accused Of Forcing App Developers To Adopt Google's Billing System Or Pay A Price If They Utilized A Competitor's Service.

The Cci Has Directed Its Director General To Conduct An Inquiry And Produce A Report Within 60 Days. The Cci Will Probably Deem Google's Behavior In Breach Of The Competition Act Of 2002.

Data Collection And Privacy Concerns:

Big Tech Businesses Collect Significant Amounts Of User Data, Leading To Privacy, Surveillance, And Security Issues.

• Google Collects User Data Through Search Searches, Email Communications, Location Monitoring, And Browser History To Power Targeted Advertising And Personalized Services.

• Facebook (Meta) Is Being Scrutinized For Its Data-Gathering Tactics, Particularly The Cambridge Analytica Incident, Which Entailed The Unauthorized Acquisition Of Millions Of Facebook Users' Data For Political Profiling.

• Amazon Analyses Customer Buying Habits And Preferences To Improve Product Recommendations, Pricing Tactics, And Supply Chain Management.

What Recent Steps Are Being Taken To Regulate Big Tech?

• The Competition Act, 2002: In India, The Competition Act Of 2002 Governs Antitrust Problems, And The Cci Monitors Monopolistic Practices. Google Received A Rs 1,337.76 Crore Penalty From The Cci In 2022 For Abusing Its Dominating Position In Several Sectors Through 'anti-Competitive Activities'.

• Competition Amendment Bill, 2022 The Competition Amendment Bill, 2022, Contains Proposals For Changes To The Competition Legislation. The President Signed The Bill Into Law In April 2023. The Cci Will Develop Regulations To Specify The Standards For Determining Whether An Enterprise Has Significant Business Operations In India. It Will Strengthen The Commission's Review System, Particularly In The Digital And Infrastructure Sectors, Where The Majority Of Transactions Were Not Previously Notified Because The Asset Or Turnover Values Did Not Meet Jurisdictional Thresholds.

What Is The Digital Competition Bill

India's Ministry Of Corporate Affairs (Mca) Made The Draft Digital Competition Bill, 2024, Available For Public Feedback. Similar To The Eu's Digital Markets Act, This Measure Recognizes Significant Digital Platforms And Imposes Certain Duties On Them To Avoid Anticompetitive Behavior.

The Measure Prevents Big Digital Platforms, Known As Systemically Significant Digital Enterprises, From Self-Preferencing, Blocking Third-Party Apps, Enforcing Anti-Steering Policies, Exploiting Business Users' Data, And Bundling Products And Services.

Key Takeaways Of The Bill

• The Bill Proposes Both Qualitative And Quantitative Criteria For Classifying Firms As 'systematically Significant Digital Firms'.

• The Bill Proposes A 90-Day Period For Enterprises To Notify Cci In The Specified Form That They Meet The Criteria For 'systematically Significant Digital Enterprises' In One Or More Of Their Core Digital Services.

• The Bill Proposes Steps To Prevent Service Fragmentation To Avoid Stated Thresholds. It Specifies That An Organization Shall Not Directly Or Indirectly Segment, Divide, Subdivide, Fragment, Or Separate Services Using Contractual, Economic, Technical, Or Any Other Means To Evade Or Avoid The Set Thresholds.

• The Law Includes Provisions To Prevent The Circumvention Of Compliance Duties. It States That A 'systemically Significant Digital Enterprise' Shall Not Engage In Any Behavior That Undermines Effective Compliance With The Obligations, Regardless Of Whether That Behavior Is Contractual, Commercial, Or Technical, Or Of Any Other Nature, Or Consists Of The Use Of Behavioral Or Interface Design. Furthermore, Companies Shall Not Directly Or Indirectly Impede Or Restrict Business Users Or End Users From Expressing Any Issues Of Noncompliance With The Act's Provisions.

• The Law Proposes Developing Clear And Effective Complaint Handling And Compliance Processes. It Stipulates That A 'systemically Significant Digital Enterprise' Must Implement Transparent And Effective Complaint Management And Compliance Systems As Described.

• A Systematically Significant Digital Enterprise Must Not Directly Or Indirectly Prefer Its Products, Services, Or Lines Of Business Or Those Of

  
  

1. Systematically Significant Digital Enterprises May Have Contracts With Related Parties Or

2. Third Parties To Manufacture Or Sell Products Or Services That Are Superior To Those Supplied By Third-Party Business Users On The Core Digital Service.

• A Systemically Significant Digital Enterprise May Not Directly Or Indirectly Utilize Or Depend On Non-Public Data Of Business Users Operating On Its Core Digital Service To Compete With Such Business Users On The Systemically Significant Digital Enterprise's Specified Core Digital Service.

  
  

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