The Competition Commission of India (CCI) Chairperson, Ravneet Kaur, has announced the extension of the term of the Digital Competition Law panel till October 31. The competition watchdog is continuing to deliberate on a draft law aimed at addressing the challenges posed by digital markets.

Kaur said the CCI is actively involved with the Committee on Digital Competition Law, providing information when needed. She highlighted that changes in deal value thresholds are coming soon, which will help stop unfair competition, through agreements. Kaur explained that the CCI is keeping a close eye on Big Tech, global players, and gatekeeper platforms.

She also talked about the importance of working with competition authorities from other countries, although it may not entail doing the same things as the other countries.

She also mentioned the recent changes to the Competition Act in 2023. These changes are meant to address issues in the digital market, such as too much power in one company, companies favouring themselves, and companies making it hard for others to compete. A significant change being made is about how the value of deals between companies is measured.

"Very substantive amendments have been made in the Competition Act of 2023. Some have been notified, and some are in the process. They are meant to address the challenges we have faced in the recent past. A very important change that will come through is deal value thresholds. We are finding in the case of digital markets that they are not charging for the services. But in their use of data, there are a lot of issues. Data concentration, self-preferencing, anti-steering provisions are some of the issues. With a view to addressing those kinds of mergers and combinations... one could also look at killer acquisitions. Companies may be very small startups, but with a great deal of potential and the ability to promote competition. The deal value threshold is meant to capture those transactions," she said.

Kaur also said the CCI is trying to make rules that people can trust and make it easy for businesses to operate. The regulator is asking people for their opinions and will use those opinions to make better rules.

"We are also moving towards trust-based regulations; we are looking at settlements and commitments. Companies can come forward and make commitments so that markets can be corrected much quicker. We would play along as we are promoting ease of doing business. We have already started public consultation, and whatever inputs we have received, we are going to be working on them," Kaur added.

When asked about how artificial intelligence (AI) affects competition, Kaur said the regulator is very interested and is studying the market to understand it better.

"We can look at the possibility of any anti-competitive practices, and if so, how they can be addressed, whether we can do any self-regulation, so that also is going to be looked at by the Commission," Kaur said.

(Edited by : Shoma Bhattacharjee)