The Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY) has reportedly met industry representatives to discuss the impact of the proposed Digital Competition Bill on data and digital markets after stakeholders seemed to have widely different opinions on the regulations.
Nine industry associations and representatives of government bodies, were present at the MeitY meeting. The meeting was attended by the Internet and Mobile Association of India (IAMAI), MakeMyTrip, Alliance of Digital India Foundation (ADIF), Federation of Indian Fantasy Sports, Cyber Cafe Association of India (CCAOI), Indian National Science Academy (INSA) and Digital News Publishers Association. Meanwhile, members from Competition Commission of India (CCI) and the Ministry of Corporate Affairs (MCA) also attended the meeting as observers.
IAMAI stated that the proposed law will be a long-term deterrent to investment. In addition, ADIF supported the digital competition bill. Moreover, MakeMyTrip said that the proposed ex ante legislation in its current shape and form is not required and needs to be relooked at.
Further, CCAOI noted that the proposed law is not about BigTech versus Indian businesses and requires thorough reassessment of the need for it, its criteria, considering Indian sensitivities and aspirations of a trillion-dollar economy.
According to CCAOI, reassessing the list of core digital services may not be harmful . CCAOI further noted that many micro, small and medium-sized enterprises (MSMEs) and small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) rely on bigtech for growth.
