US tech giants claim that the Indian panel’s recommendation for competition is ‘absolutist’ and’regressive’
A prominent industry group representing Google, Meta, and Amazon, among others, has voiced concerns about the recommendation of an Indian parliamentary panel for a digital competition law. The proposal seeks to regulate their alleged noncompetitive practices. It was called “absolutist” and “regressive” by the Indian parliamentary panel in the latest round of tensions between New Delhi and the U.S. tech giants.
Last month, the Parliamentary Standing Committee on Finance recommended that the government adopt a digital competition law to regulate anticompetitive practices by Big Tech companies on its platforms. This would prohibit them from favoriting their own brands and not supporting third-party system support. The competition act, the panel said, “will be a boon not only for our country and its nascent startup economy but also for the entire world.”
Asia Internet Coalition, an industry group, stated in a statement that India’s proposed law on digital competition could harm digital innovation and impact investments in India. It also said that it would have “disproportionate costs” for South Asian consumers and businesses. It added that the report submitted by the committee was prescriptive and absolutist, as well as regressive.
The Indian panel last month stated that it was systemically important to counter Monopoly. They warned that tech giants must not choose their offers over those offered by competitors, when acting as intermediaries between supply and sales markets.
The parliamentary panel’s recommendation cites the EU’s proposed Digital Markets Act and the U.S.’s American Innovation and Choice Online Act and the Open App Market Act.
AIC, an industry group, said that OAMA and AICOA “failed” to get bipartisan support, citing substantive disagreements and concerns over unintended effects on consumers, growth, innovation, and consumers. In sum, there is no consensus that a DMA-style ex ante legislation is the way forward for addressing potential competition concerns in the digital space,” it said in the statement.
India is the second-largest internet market in the world and has attracted investment of over $75 billion from companies such as Google, Meta and Amazon. In the last decade, investment shops Sequoia and Lightspeed have also been able to attract investment. New Delhi has introduced and enforced several policy changes in the last three year to increase accountability and fairness among tech firms operating in India. This move rattled many U.S. corporations.
New Delhi enters 2023 with several policy changes including a telecom law. tighten the government’s grip on internet firms.
“We ask the government to examine first whether these regulatory developments overseas bring about benefits that exceed costs. The government has proposed two major bills recently, the Digital Personal Data Protection Bill, and the Competition Amendment Bill (CAB). These bills seek to protect consumers and preserve competition while promoting tech innovation, with a special focus in digital markets.” Asia Internet Coalition said.
“In this regard, it is important to first understand the impact of these bills on the digital ecosystem prior to introducing new legislative proposals.”
Sundar Pichai (Google chief executive) stated that India was in an important stage as it is drafting several key regulations. He also claimed that India would soon be ready for the next phase of its development. stands to benefit from open and connected internet.