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Four Indian digital companies including Bharat Matrimony, Match Group, ShareChat, and Hoichoi have expressed a divergent view from the submission made by Internet and Mobile Association of India (IAMAI) on the draft of Digital Competition Bill, and have exhorted the Ministry of Corporate Affairs to move ahead with ex-ante regulations at the earliest
These companies have emphasised on the need for ex-ante regulations to curb anti-competitive practices of Big Tech companies to address long-standing concerns of Indian startups to rein in practices that stifle innovation, limit consumer choice, and hinder the growth of young businesses.
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“We state that IAMAI’s submission is not reflective of the entire digital startup ecosystem or IAMAI’s diverse membership of over 540 companies as only a miniscule percentage of these members have opposed the ex-ante provisions introduced by the DCB, yet the submission predominantly echoes this minority perspective. We believe that such opposition of ex ante regulations and continuation of the ex post regime, will lead to status quo being maintained and allow entrenched players to continue exploiting regulatory gaps to stifle competition and innovation,” the four companies said in a letter to Manoj Govil, Secretary Ministry of Corporate Affairs.
The Internet and Mobile Association of India (IAMAI), one of the strongest lobby group in the country representing numerous digital entities, including Big Tech firms, had earlier said that proposed regulations have the potential to stifle venture investments in technology startups.
One of the provisions under draft digital competition bill brings in additional obligations for Systematically Significant Digital Enterprises (SSDEs) aimed at preventing anti-competitive practices. IAMAI had said that the criteria for designating enterprises SSDEs can potentially include the entirety of the Indian digital sector.
The four companies opposing IAMAI’s views said it can be ensured that only the largest digital gatekeepers (or ‘Big Tech’ companies), which have benefitted from network effects, fall within the scope of the new law.
“Similar apprehensions from smaller companies in the European Union were mitigated when the Digital Markets Act (DMA) designated only six of the largest companies under its purview. As such, submissions made during this consultation process that the thresholds for designating enterprises as SSDE could potentially cover the entirety of India’s digital sector are alarmist since the intention of the draft DCB is to only to regulate the large digital gatekeepers,” they said.
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