India’s proposed antitrust law poses new challenges for technology giants Apple, Google and Meta

Technology companies such as Apple, Google and Meta will face new regulatory challenges as a result of India’s proposed EU-style antitrust law, which would impose stringent compliance requirements that could impact their business models.

The panel’s February report, which proposed a new “Digital Competition Act” to supplement current antitrust laws, is currently under review by the Indian government. Fearing the impact of the move on business, a prominent US lobby group has already expressed opposition.

Here are the key details of India’s proposal:

Who would this law apply to?

Under the law, this will impact systemically important digital businesses. People who have generated more than $480 million in revenue domestically or more than $30 billion globally and include at least 10 million local users of digital services. Amazon, Apple, Google and Meta would be subject to Indian law, which has not yet been approved by parliament.

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Why does India want a new antitrust law?

A few large companies exercised “tremendous control over the market” and the digital market was “increasingly concentrated,” according to the government panel. For this reason, it was concluded that new regulations were necessary. The panel said this created an “imbalance in bargaining power” as start-ups and smaller digital companies had to rely on larger companies.

What will the new law require?

Like the EU’s Digital Markets Act, the bill would require companies to act in a fair and non-discriminatory manner and recommend a penalty of up to 10% of a company’s global turnover for breaches.

It would be illegal to favor your own goods or services on your platforms or use users’ private data for your own purposes.

Additionally, companies must not hinder users’ access to third-party applications in any way, including by downloading, installing, or using them. Additionally, they would have to allow users to freely choose default settings.

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After the Indian elections, the Ministry of Corporate Affairs, headed by Minister Nirmala Sitharaman, will now review the proposed bill and the comments received.

Which tech companies are being monitored on an ongoing basis in India?

In India, Amazon’s Flipkart and Walmart are under investigation for harming competitors by favoring certain sellers on their e-commerce platforms.

Due to the abuse of its dominant position in the Android mobile operating system market, including limiting users’ ability to uninstall pre-installed applications, Google was subject to antitrust penalties and is a party to legal disputes.

Both Apple and Google have been heavily criticized for allegedly harming competitors by promoting their in-app purchase policies, according to the nonprofit group.