Technology companies wary of law on digital competition
2 years, 4 months ago

Technology companies wary of law on digital competition

The Hindu  

To tackle unfair and predatory practices in the digital market space, the Standing Committee on Finance will be submitting a report in the first week of September on how the competition law needs to evolve for the digital market. “In the first week of September, the Standing Committee on Finance will be submitting a report on the evolution of competition law for the digital market. We will take into account India’s unique circumstances; at the same time, we also examine competition laws associated with digital markets around the world,” panel chairperson and BJP MP Jayant Sinha said. “Giving out the numbers, they claimed that since their share in the digital space in India is so low the question of anti-competitive practices doesn’t arise,” one of the members said.

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History of this topic

Suggestions from over 100 entities on Digital Competition Bill under consideration: FM
2 weeks ago

Suggestions from over 100 entities on Digital Competition Bill under consideration: FM

Live Mint  

New Delhi: The government consulted over 100 entities including some of the businesses likely to be impacted by the proposed digital competition law, such as Amazon, Apple India Pvt. The minister told the House in a written reply that pre-legislative consultations on the Draft Digital Competition Bill were held as per the ministry of corporate affairs’ policy. Closed-door consultations were …

The fight against illegal online activities: Policy responses for a safer digital environment
4 months, 3 weeks ago

The fight against illegal online activities: Policy responses for a safer digital environment

Hindustan Times  

Policymaking is crucial in balancing the interests of regulation, innovation, and consumer protection. In India, numerous betting and gambling applications registered in nations like Cyprus, Malta and Curacao pose as legitimate platforms circumventing Indian regulatory and tax obligations. In response to the menace of these platforms, ministry of electronics and information technology which is also the nodal ministry for the …

What is the draft Digital Competition Bill? | Explained
5 months, 2 weeks ago

What is the draft Digital Competition Bill? | Explained

The Hindu  

The story so far: In February 2023, the Ministry of Corporate Affairs constituted a Committee on Digital Competition Law to examine the need for a separate law on competition in digital markets. It laid out this ex-ante framework in the draft Digital Competition Bill. The European Union is the only jurisdiction where a comprehensive ex-ante competition framework, under the Digital …

Tech industry groups oppose plans for digital competition law
6 months ago

Tech industry groups oppose plans for digital competition law

Hindustan Times  

Key industry associations representing technology companies, including Google and Meta, were almost unanimous in voicing their opposition to the ex ante competition regulation for digital markets in general, and the draft Digital Competition Bill in particular, in the third meeting convened by the government on the issue on Thursday, four people aware of the matter told HT. Chaired by IT …

Stakeholders continue to oppose Digital Competition Bill at meet
6 months ago

Stakeholders continue to oppose Digital Competition Bill at meet

Hindustan Times  

Thinktanks and other stakeholders continued their opposition to the draft Digital Competition Bill in the second meeting convened by the Union ministry of electronics and information technology on Wednesday. Stakeholders continue to oppose Digital Competition Bill at meet They argued that prescribing certain anticompetitive practices of Big Tech as illegal was unnecessary and would negatively impact medium, small and micro …

India Inc raises concerns over draft Digital Competition Bill
6 months ago

India Inc raises concerns over draft Digital Competition Bill

The Hindu  

India Inc on Tuesday raised its concerns over the draft Digital Competition Bill 2024 in a meeting chaired by MeitY Secretary S Krishnan. Internet and Mobile Association of India proposed recommendations for the Dual Legislation, saying the current Competition Act and the new bill for digital markets are unfair and untenable. The proposed Digital Competition Bill, which seeks to impose …

Inter-ministerial meeting on revenue sharing by I&B ministry stays inconclusive
6 months, 1 week ago

Inter-ministerial meeting on revenue sharing by I&B ministry stays inconclusive

Hindustan Times  

The first inter-ministerial meeting, convened by the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting on Wednesday to discuss the imbalance in bargaining power between Big Tech companies and digital news publishers, and the dominance of the former in digital advertising, was inconclusive on whether a legal framework is required to address the issues, three people aware of the matter said. The officials …

India's EU-like antitrust law worrying technology firms
6 months, 1 week ago

India's EU-like antitrust law worrying technology firms

Hindustan Times  

By Arpan Chaturvedi India's EU-like antitrust law worrying technology firms NEW DELHI, - India's proposed EU-like antitrust law will pose a fresh regulatory challenge for tech firms including Apple, Google and Meta, laying out strict compliance obligations that could affect their business models. The Indian government is currently examining a panel's February report that proposed a new "Digital Competition Bill" …

Is the Draft Digital Competition Bill too restrictive?
6 months, 3 weeks ago

Is the Draft Digital Competition Bill too restrictive?

The Hindu  

The Ministry of Corporate Affairs has put out a draft Digital Competition Bill to regulate anti-competitive practices in the digital space. The Bill has provisions for identifying Systemically Significant Digital Enterprises – basically large digital platforms. While the Bill seems well-intentioned, various stakeholders have expressed concerns that it is far too invasive and could stifle innovation, undermine the interests of …

Why Are Big Tech Companies Jittery About Digital Competition Bill? How Different It Is From The EU Law
7 months, 1 week ago

Why Are Big Tech Companies Jittery About Digital Competition Bill? How Different It Is From The EU Law

News 18  

Big tech companies, including Google, Facebook, Microsoft and Amazon will come under scrutiny as the Digital Competition Bill takes shape, which would stop them from self-preferencing their own services. The draft law, called the Digital Competition Bill, 2024, has provisions to set presumptive norms to curb anti-competitive practices before they actually take place, and promises to impose heavy penalties for …

MSMEs Want Govt to Relook Digital Competition Bill
8 months, 1 week ago

MSMEs Want Govt to Relook Digital Competition Bill

Deccan Chronicle  

The adverse effects of the proposed Digital Competition Bill on MSMEs' ability to access and compete in emerging markets, India SME Forum said in its letter to the government. As the provisions are focused on digital services, it limits the ability of SMEs to extract value from digital platforms and deter from adopting digital trade. This approach could hamper investments …

A needed reform for digital competition
9 months ago

A needed reform for digital competition

Hindustan Times  

With the rising digitalisation of markets, the proposed Digital Competition Act can provide a much-needed reform. PREMIUM The 2002 Competition Act’s ex-post approach—the regulator acts when abuse of dominance occurs—was adequate for the earlier, almost exclusively physical markets. The 2002 Competition Act’s ex-post approach—the regulator acts when abuse of dominance occurs—was adequate for the earlier, almost exclusively physical markets. Also, …

Govt-appointed panel proposes bill to curb anti-competitive practices by tech giants
9 months, 1 week ago

Govt-appointed panel proposes bill to curb anti-competitive practices by tech giants

Hindustan Times  

New Delhi: The Committee on Digital Competition Law, constituted by the Union ministry of corporate affairs, has proposed a legislation to curb anti-competitive business practices used by tech giants such as Amazon, Google and Facebook. In the draft bill, the committee proposed that for certain “core digital services” such as search engines, web browsers and social networking sites, the Competition …

Setting the rules in disputes over apps
9 months, 2 weeks ago

Setting the rules in disputes over apps

Hindustan Times  

Last week, Google delisted the apps of 10 Indian businesses from its proprietary app store. This incident, which saw some apps relisted after mediated discussions, highlights the need for a thoughtful resolution of business disputes in the digital economy, increasingly contested on the notion of “fairness”. The margins-led fight between apps and their distributors has many analogues, such as telecom …

Harmonizing Horizons: Unravelling Digital Lending Regulations in a Global Context
11 months ago

Harmonizing Horizons: Unravelling Digital Lending Regulations in a Global Context

Live Law  

Driven by technical improvements and improved internet access, digital lending is on the rise in India with the goal of improving financial inclusion. The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau plays a pivotal role in enforcing federal consumer protection laws, recently issuing guidelines tailored for digital lending platforms. United Kingdom Within the United Kingdom, oversight of digital lending platforms falls under the …

Classifying intermediaries in the upcoming DIA
1 year, 1 month ago

Classifying intermediaries in the upcoming DIA

Hindustan Times  

The enactment of the Digital Personal Data Protection Act of 2023 reflects a concerted effort to establish an Open, Safe, Trusted, and Accountable internet ecosystem. With the data protection regime nearly finalised all eyes are on the Digital India Bill to achieve the objectives of Open, Safe, Trusted and Accountable online space. As the Government works towards this transition from …

How the Digital India Act will shape the future of the country’s cyber landscape
1 year, 2 months ago

How the Digital India Act will shape the future of the country’s cyber landscape

The Hindu  

October 09, 2023 08:30 am | Updated 08:30 am IST Nations worldwide are grappling with the need to update their legal frameworks to adapt to the evolving digital landscape. The recent announcement of the Digital India Act 2023 represents a significant step towards establishing a future-ready legal framework for the country’s burgeoning digital ecosystem. The primary motivation behind the DIA …

HNLU Discussion On ‘Competition Law In Digital Economy - A Future Roadmap For India’
1 year, 2 months ago

HNLU Discussion On ‘Competition Law In Digital Economy - A Future Roadmap For India’

Live Law  

The Research Centre for Consumer and Competition Laws of Hidayatullah National Law University hosted an online discussion on 30th of September, 2023 at 6.00 P.M. Mr. Toshit Shandilya, Partner, AZB & Partners delivered the address on the topic ‘Competition Law in Digital Economy - A Future Roadmap for India’. As technology continues to reshape various industries, questions arise about the …

Data market’s future hinges on regulation
1 year, 4 months ago

Data market’s future hinges on regulation

Hindustan Times  

In 1776, when Adam Smith — arguably the most ardent champion of market economics — argued in favour of the invisible hand, there was no telephone, no broadband and no digital data coursing through cables or air waves. Several economists, including Hal Varian, the chief economist of Google, are swayed by the efficiency hypothesis while others liken data to oil …

Panel urges govt to finalize digital competition bill
1 year, 4 months ago

Panel urges govt to finalize digital competition bill

Live Mint  

NEW DELHI : The parliamentary standing committee on finance, led by Jayant Sinha, on Thursday urged the Union government to finalise the digital competition bill at the earliest to check a slew of anti-competitive practices plaguing the digital markets. In December, Parliamentary Standing Committee on Finance recommended formation of Digital Competition Law, and defining Big Tech companies as Systemically Important …

Technology was a major focus of PM Modi’s U.S. visit, yet why are U.S tech firms sceptical about digital trade with India?
1 year, 5 months ago

Technology was a major focus of PM Modi’s U.S. visit, yet why are U.S tech firms sceptical about digital trade with India?

The Hindu  

The story so far: During Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s U.S. state visit, cooperation on technology emerged as a prominent talking point and yielded some of the most substantive outcomes, according to Foreign Secretary Vinay Kwatra. However, digital trade is also the area where some of the biggest U.S. tech companies have recently flagged multiple policy hurdles, including “India’s patently protectionist …

Britain to take on Big Tech antitrust issues with new legal powers
1 year, 7 months ago

Britain to take on Big Tech antitrust issues with new legal powers

The Hindu  

Britain said on Tuesday it would introduce a new law to rein in the power that big tech companies such as Google, Facebook and Amazon are able to wield to stifle competition in digital markets. Britain's antitrust watchdog, the Competition and Markets Authority, set up a dedicated Digital Markets Unit two years ago, armed with the expertise to regulate new …

How to hold Big Tech to account
1 year, 8 months ago

How to hold Big Tech to account

Hindustan Times  

In what has been a slow session of Parliament in terms of legislative work, the Lok Sabha cleared a much-needed change to India’s competition law. The Competition Amendment Bill, 2022 seeks to tweak the 2002 competition law, which lays down important guardrails for the market in India to be fair, preventing participants from cartelising or abusing positions of dominance. The …

MeitY mystery: Consultation process for Digital India Bill still opaque
1 year, 9 months ago

MeitY mystery: Consultation process for Digital India Bill still opaque

The Hindu  

Published : Mar 23, 2023 10:45 IST - 7 MINS READ The Union government’s ambitious vision of Digital India and its goals of “Catalysing New India’s Techade” are well known. The Bill will also touch upon the idea of “discretionary moderation of fake news” by social media platforms as well as “content monetisation rules for platform-generated and user-generated content”. “The …

Digital India Act: A Black and White Journey Begins After The Festival Of Colours
1 year, 9 months ago

Digital India Act: A Black and White Journey Begins After The Festival Of Colours

ABP News  

Union Minister for State for Electronics And Information Technology Rajeev Chandrasekhar unveiled and gave an overall glimpse of the proposed basic structure/framework and an overall roadmap of the Digital India Act 2023 on March 9, 2023. While on the one hand, the internet, devices and information technology have empowered the citizens of India, at the same time it has also …

Centre to reconsider ‘safe harbour’ clause in IT law
1 year, 9 months ago

Centre to reconsider ‘safe harbour’ clause in IT law

The Hindu  

The Union government on Thursday formally outlined the Digital India Act, 2023 which is a broad overhaul of the decades-old Information Technology Act, 2000. From the 2000s onward, Mr. Chandrasekhar said, platforms for which safe harbour was applied as a concept “have now morphed into multiple types of participants and platforms on the internet, functionally very different from each other, …

Finance panel will firm up regulators: Jayant Sinha
1 year, 11 months ago

Finance panel will firm up regulators: Jayant Sinha

Live Mint  

After recommending sweeping changes to India’s bankruptcy framework and competition regulation, the Parliament’s influential standing committee on finance may examine the issue of state finances, the working of market and banking regulators, and the menace of cybercrimes, the panel’s chairperson, Jayant Sinha, said. In an interview, Sinha said dominant digital market players, to be identified as digital gatekeepers, will have …

Mint Explainer: How to prevent the birth of digital monopolies
1 year, 11 months ago

Mint Explainer: How to prevent the birth of digital monopolies

Live Mint  

A parliamentary panel has recommended ex-ante regulations for the Indian digital markets to prevent a few companies turning into large monopolies. In fact, regulations can be far broader in scope than competition laws, pushing the development of the digital ecosystem in a direction that may be seen to be socially desirable, for example, pushing companies to share data that may …

Gear up wisely to clamp down on important digital intermediaries
1 year, 11 months ago

Gear up wisely to clamp down on important digital intermediaries

Live Mint  

Hard on the heels of its recommendations on the Competition Bill, 2022, India’s Standing Committee on Finance tabled its report on “anti-competitive practices by big tech companies” in the Lok Sabha on 22 December 2022. To address the unique needs of digital markets, the committee has recommended the introduction of a ‘Digital Competition Act’, which would ensure a fair, transparent …

India panel recommends digital competition act to rein in Big Tech
2 years ago

India panel recommends digital competition act to rein in Big Tech

The Hindu  

An Indian parliamentary panel on Thursday recommended the government enact a digital competition act to regulate anti-competitive business practices by Big Tech companies on its platforms. Prime Minister Narendra Modi's government has had strained relations with many large technology companies, and New Delhi has been tightening the regulation of firms such as Facebook, YouTube and Twitter. "The Committee recommend that …

Big Tech and the need in India for ex-ante regulation
2 years ago

Big Tech and the need in India for ex-ante regulation

The Hindu  

The Indian anti-trust body, the Competition Commission of India ’s move, in October, to impose a penalty of ₹1,337.76 crore on Google for abusing its dominant position in the android mobile device ecosystem, has forced us, once again, to rethink the market power of Big Tech companies. The EU’s Digital Market Act and “gatekeepers” who will enforce rules and regulations …

Why CCI matters for protecting customers from digital players
2 years, 3 months ago

Why CCI matters for protecting customers from digital players

Live Mint  

The Parliamentary Standing Committee on Finance, headed by Jayant Sinha, is only the latest to voice its concerns about potential risks from the rapid growth of the digital economy. In particular, the risks arising from the inherently anti-competitive nature of players in the digital world due to what are known as network effects, the peculiar feature that makes the value …

Anti-competitive practices: Apple, Google, Netflix, Amazon India executives to depose before Parliamentary panel on Tuesday
2 years, 4 months ago

Anti-competitive practices: Apple, Google, Netflix, Amazon India executives to depose before Parliamentary panel on Tuesday

The Hindu  

Top executives of the Indian arms of Apple, Google, Amazon, Netflix and Microsoft will on August 23 depose before a parliamentary panel looking into anti-competitive practices in the digital space, the committee’s chairman Jayant Sinha said. According to a notice issued by the Lok Sabha Secretariat, the agenda of the meeting is “Oral evidence of the representatives of big tech …

Anti-competitive practices: Apple, Google, Netflix, Amazon India execs to depose before Parliamentary panel
2 years, 4 months ago

Anti-competitive practices: Apple, Google, Netflix, Amazon India execs to depose before Parliamentary panel

India TV News  

Top executives of the Indian arms of Apple, Google, Amazon, Netflix and Microsoft will on Tuesday depose before a parliamentary panel looking into anti-competitive practices in the digital space, the committee's chairman Jayant Sinha said. "Representatives of Apple, Microsoft, Amazon, Google, Netflix, from their Indian arms and a few others will appear before the parliamentary panel on the issue of …

Digital markets and competitive behaviour
2 years, 4 months ago

Digital markets and competitive behaviour

Hindustan Times  

In its 2018 passed decision, the CCI had imposed a fine of ₹135.86 crores against Google for having abused its dominant position in the market and being involved in search bias vis-à-vis Google flights service. Processes like bundling and tying become the go-to methods for these big players, which disrupts the level playing field for other companies. When the key …

From Accountability to Flexibility, How Competition Amendment Bill Will Strengthen CCI - News18
2 years, 5 months ago

From Accountability to Flexibility, How Competition Amendment Bill Will Strengthen CCI - News18

News 18  

Parliament is the temple of democracy and parliamentary procedures the rites by which the will of the people is translated into practice. According to a Lok Sabha bulletin, the Competition Bill, 2022, seeks to carry out certain essential structural changes in the governing structure of the Competition Commission of India and changes to substantive provisions to address the needs for …

Competition law in digital space: Exclusionary conduct by tech conglomerates
2 years, 7 months ago

Competition law in digital space: Exclusionary conduct by tech conglomerates

Hindustan Times  

The last few decades have witnessed a rise in the use and accumulation of data, often called ‘the oil of the 21st century’. This brief discusses India’s antitrust laws and regulations in the digital space, focusing on the Competition Commission of India and the Indian Competition Act, 2002. Using the actions of Google and Microsoft as case studies, it examines …

Digital markets must be defined well for competition regulation
2 years, 7 months ago

Digital markets must be defined well for competition regulation

Live Mint  

The rise of the digital sector has presented unique challenges for Indian regulatory authorities, including the Competition Commission of India, thanks to significant differences in the way such markets operate compared to traditional markets. The CCI’s approach so far: Until 2016, while defining a ‘relevant market’ for e-commerce companies and marketplaces, the CCI viewed online and offline segments as different …

Antitrust Enforcement In Digital Markets: CCI On Interim Reliefs
3 years ago

Antitrust Enforcement In Digital Markets: CCI On Interim Reliefs

Live Law  

Recently, the Alliance of Digital India Foundation, a Delhi-based think tank with members from India's start-ups and entrepreneurs, filed a petition with the Competition Commission of India seeking interim relief against Google's policy of collecting commission on payments made on Playstore apps, which takes effect in March 2022. The CCI has recently used this provision to address competitive damage in …

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