India Considers New Digital Competition Law to Regulate Big Tech: Report

The government is considering enacting a separate digital competition law to oversee large technological corporations. Rather than amending the newly modified Competition Act, the Ministry of Corporate Affairs is said to be considering new laws. The Economic Times reported that the process of presenting a bill of this sort would be time-consuming due to the intricate nature of the subject and the varied opinions of parties.

According to the report, the government does not aim to rush through a digital competition law. It intends to establish such a law after extensive debates and deliberation. The idea of enacting legislation to govern significant digital companies has been discussed in countries such as the United Kingdom and the United States for some time.

A committee was formed under corporate affairs secretary Manoj Govil, to investigate the need for any ex-ante regulatory mechanism for digital markets through a separate law and to study international best practices, among other things. It is reportedly on track to complete the preliminary draft of its report this month. The group has completed its stakeholder discussions, which included local entrepreneurs as well as large worldwide firms such as Apple, Amazon, Google, Meta, and Twitter.

According to reports, significant global technology corporations have indicated their opposition to the concept of ex-ante rules in India. The report’s findings are intended to serve as the foundation for the government’s next steps.