India calls for international cooperation for regulating antitrust behaviour by digital companies

With emerging challenges in the digital economy, India on Thursday sought international cooperation for regulating anti-competitive behaviour by companies in the sector.  

“In our fast-evolving world, new challenges and dimensions have evolved that require our attention. Driven by data proliferation, digital technologies have transformed market landscapes across countries. This critical gateway position of platforms, and their control of data and market access points are giving rise to a range of issues emanating from information asymmetry and imbalance in bargaining power,” said Ashok Bhushan, Chairperson, National Company Law Appellate Tribunal.   

Addressing the inaugural session of the 8^th BRICS International Competition Conference, he noted that India has joined league of nations that have recognised that irrespective of the purported benefits of these platform-centric markets of consumers, strong antitrust enforcement is an essential part of public policies governing these entities.   

“It is essential to strike a delicate balance for digital platform to innovate and grow while preventing anti-competitive practices that harm consumers,” he further said, adding that countries must come together to develop robust mechanism to regulate digital markets.   

“It has to be recognised that these markets are global in nature and scope thus international cooperation will be necessary to reduce the possibility of regulatory arbitrage and keep abreast of regulatory developments in other jurisdictions,” he highlighted.  

Addressing the session, Ravneet Kaur, Chairperson, Competition Commission of India, said the two major imperatives facing economies today are leveraging of digital technology and the pursuit of environmentally sustainable growth.    

“Our economies have taken a leap forward in digital technology. Digital technology has been a force multiplier in achieving growth, inclusion and innovation. But in a handful of cases, it has been observed that digital sector can naturally favour the growth of a handful of platforms and the kind of harm they can do to competition and consumers,” she noted.   

Competition authorities have a critical role to play here, she said, adding that enforcement experiences and market strategies can help up to understand these markets better. “We are all upgrading and supplementing our toolkits and plugging enforcement gaps. Sharing experiences will be crucial in optimising our efforts to ensure digital markets remain competitive and contestable,” Kaur said.  

She also underlined the need to build collective capacity in the fields of AI, blockchain and algorithms as the digital transition progresses.  

The comments come at a time when India is working on a Digital Competition Bill to regulate Big Tech firms.  

In two landmark cases last year, the CCI imposed penalties of Rs 1,337.76 crore and Rs 936.44 crore against tech giant Google for anti-competitive behaviour, apart from issuing a cease-and-desist order and remedies.  The NCLAT had also upheld the Rs 1,337.76 crore penalty on Google.  

The CCI has also taken cognisance of alleged anti-competitive practices indulged in by other tech behemoths such as Apple, Flipkart and Amazon, Meta-WhatsApp, Zomato and Swiggy, MakeMyTrip, OYO, and BookMyShow and ordered investigations. 

Also Read: CPI inflation likely to be at 5.3-5.6% in September