A US lobby group is calling on India to reconsider its proposed EU-style competition law

A prominent US lobby group representing tech giants Google, Amazon and Apple has urged India to reassess its proposed competition law, arguing that new regulations on data use and preferential treatment for partners could lead to higher costs for users.

This appeal was made in a letter dated May 15 from the US-India Business Council (USIBC), part of the US Chamber of Commerce, to the Indian Ministry of Corporate Affairs.

The Indian government’s move comes in response to the growing market dominance of a few large digital companies in the country. In February, a government panel recommended imposing new obligations on these companies through a proposed “Digital Competition Act” intended to complement existing laws. The panel criticized current enforcement mechanisms as “time-consuming”, according to a Reuters report.

Read more: Google accuses India’s Competition Commission of protecting Amazon

India’s proposed competition law is modeled on the European Union’s landmark Digital Markets Act 2022. It targets large companies with global turnover of more than $30 billion and at least 10 million local users, thus covering some of the world’s largest technology companies. The key provisions of the proposed bill include prohibiting companies from using non-public user data and preferential treatment of their own services over those of competitors. It also aims to remove restrictions on downloading third-party apps.

The USIBC letter, which has not been made public but was seen by Reuters, said the proposed Indian law is “much broader in scope” than the EU regulations. The group says the strategies tech companies use to launch new features and make users safer could be seriously disrupted. They warn that these measures, if implemented, could hamper innovation and result in higher costs for consumers.

Source: Reuters