India's Digital Competition Law: An Overview
The Ministry of Corporate Affairs (MCA) in India released a draft ex-ante digital competition law in 2024, inspired by the EU’s Digital Markets Act (DMA). This raises the question of whether India needs this new law or if its existing competition framework suffices.
Existing Competition Law Framework
- Competition Act 2002: Offers a comprehensive framework to tackle anticompetitive behavior in the digital economy.
- 2023 Amendments: Enhanced flexibility to address digital concerns like deep discounting, bundling, and data misuse without prejudgment.
- Enforcement by CCI: The Competition Commission of India (CCI) has effectively applied these provisions in cases against Google, Meta, WhatsApp, MakeMyTrip, Flipkart, and Uber.
Ex-Ante Digital Competition Laws
- Some regions have adopted these laws, which often impose absolute prohibitions and structural presumptions.
India's Approach
- Draft Digital Competition Bill (DCB) 2024: Proposed ex-ante obligations but met with criticism and has been paused to avoid stifling innovation.
- Judicial Restraint: CCI's approach in cases like Matrimony.com v. Google reflects a nuanced understanding of digital markets.
- Enforcement Challenges: Delays in enforcement, as highlighted in CCI v. SAIL, need addressing.
Future Directions
- Focus on improving the current system with faster case resolutions and better resources for CCI.
- Introduce sector-specific guidelines while maintaining flexibility.
- Emphasize training and upskilling enforcement personnel.
- Promote a principles-based, evidence-driven regulatory approach.
The Government of India should prioritize building institutional capacity and ensuring timely enforcement, maintaining a principled and pragmatic approach to regulation that upholds economic analysis in diverse sectors, including digital markets.