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Govt may consider market study before ex-ante regulations for Big Tech
Ruchika Chitravanshi New Delhi
The government feels the need to conduct a market study to build a strong foundation for bringing in ex-ante regulations under the draft Digital Competition Bill, Harsh Malhotra, Minister of State for Corporate Affairs, told Parliament on Monday.
'Based on the suggestions, comments, and inputs received, it is felt that an evidence-based foundation through market studies is required to consider all relevant aspects for ex-ante regulation, considering it is in the nascent implementation stages globally,' the minister said in response to a question on the current status of the Draft Digital Competition Bill.
The Committee submitted its report in February 2024 along with a draft Digital Competition Bill.
The ministry has received responses from more than 100 stakeholders, ranging from legal professionals, industry associations, civil society organisations, and domestic and foreign digital enterprises providing digital services in India.
Malhotra told the Lok Sabha that the comments from the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY) on the Bill were awaited. He also mentioned that MeitY had organised stakeholder discussions between 18 June 2024 and 20 June 2024 on this matter.
A Parliamentary Panel looking into the role of the Competition Commission of India (CCI) in an evolving economy, particularly the digital landscape, has sought the views of the MCA on suggestions made by some Indian online players regarding the draft Bill.
Speaking at a CCI event in March this year, Malhotra had said the government was not in a hurry to bring the Digital Competition Bill (DCB) and wanted to follow due process with more deliberations on the proposed legislation before introducing it. He stated that strict interventions would be required to enforce the law, and self-regulation and compliance also needed to be promoted.
The draft DCB provisions set quantitative and qualitative criteria for Systemically Significant Digital Enterprises (SSDEs), such as turnover in India of not less than Rs 4,000 crore or a global turnover of not less than USD 30 billion. Other criteria include a gross merchandise value in India of not less than Rs 16,000 crore or global market capitalisation of not less than USD 75 billion.
It also states that if the core digital service provided by the enterprise has at least one crore end users or 10,000 business users, it would be considered an SSDE. These SSDEs, according to the draft Bill, would be covered by the ex-ante regulations.
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