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 strained relations with many big tech companies, and New Delhi is tightening regulation of firms such as Facebook, YouTube and Twitter.
Alphabet Inc’s Google and Apple have faced scrutiny in the past from India’s competition watchdog, the Competition Commission of India (CCI), over alleged abuse of the app market. “The committee recommends that the government consider and introduce a digital competition law that will ensure a fair, transparent and competitive digital ecosystem that will benefit not only our country and its nascent start-up economy, but the world at large,” he added. ” the panel said in a report tabled in the lower house of the Indian Parliament.
The panel recommended the identification of top technology players as systemically important digital intermediaries in the fight against monopoly and warned that they “must not favor their own offers over those of their competitors” when acting as intermediaries in supply and sales markets. In India, Amazon and rival Flipkart face allegations of anti-competitive practices such as promoting preferred sellers on websites and favoring certain sellers’ listings.
Companies such as Facebook ( META.O ), Twitter and Google ( GOOGL.O ) have for years grappled with the many regulations India has proposed for the technology sector, with companies complaining of excessive compliance burdens. These complaints have sometimes strained relations between New Delhi and Washington. Amazon, Google, Meta, Twitter and Apple did not immediately respond to a request for comment. A dedicated digital markets unit should be set up within the competition watchdog, the panel said, adding that the competitive behavior of big tech companies needs to be monitored beforehand, not after markets become monopolies.
Read Now :<strong>The most famous YouTuber MrBeast asks: “Can I be the new CEO of Twitter?</strong>
