US Tech Giants Say Indian Panel's Recommended Competition Act 'absolutist And Regressive'

An influential industry group representing Google, Meta and Amazon, as well as other tech companies, has raised concerns about a digital competition law recommended by an Indian parliamentary group that seeks to curb their alleged anti-competitive practices, calling the proposal "absolute." nature. . . The blow is in the latest escalation in tensions between the American tech giant and New Delhi.

Last month, the Parliament's Standing Committee on Finance recommended that the government pass the Digital Competition Act to regulate the competitive business practices of big tech companies on their platforms, preventing them from promoting local brands or favoring third parties. The competition law, according to the jury, "will be a boon not only for our country and its young start-up economy, but for the whole world."

The Asian Internet Coalition, an industry group, said in a statement that the proposed digital competition law could harm digital innovation in India and affect business investment in India, leading to a "disproportionate cost" to consumers in the online marketplace. South Asia. “The report presented by the commission is prescriptive, absolute and retrospective,” he said.

India's commission said last month that its recommendation was of systemic importance in the fight against monopolies and warned that tech giants should not "prefer competitors' offerings" by acting as intermediaries in supply and sales markets.

The parliamentary group's recommendations relate to the proposed EU Digital Markets Act, the US Internet Innovation and Choice Act, and the US Open Application Marketplace Act.

Industry group AIC said that both AICOA and OAMA "have been unable to provide bipartisan support to address potential competition issues in the digital space due to significant disparities and concerns about unintended consequences for consumers, growth and innovation," it said in a statement.

India is the second largest internet market in the world and has attracted more than $75 billion in investment over the past decade from the likes of Google, Meta and Amazon, as well as investment shops Sequoia, Lightspeed, SoftBank and Tiger Global. New Delhi has implemented and proposed a number of policy changes over the past three years to increase accountability and fairness in how tech companies operate in the country, which is shocking to many US giants.

New Delhi entered 2023 with several more policy changes, including a telecommunications law that would increase government oversight of internet companies.

“We urge the government to first consider whether the benefits of these foreign regulatory changes outweigh the costs. In particular, it is worth noting that the government has recently proposed two important laws, namely the Digital Privacy Act and the Competition Act Amendment Act (CAB). ), both aimed at protecting consumers, protecting competition and promoting technological innovation, with a particular focus on digital markets,” said the Asia Internet Coalition.

“Therefore, it is important to understand the impact of these two bills on the digital ecosystem before proposing new legislation.”

Google CEO Sundar Pichai said last month that India is going through an important period as it develops a core set of rules and benefits from an open and connected internet.

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