Competition Commission of India (CCI) Chairperson Ravneet Kaur. File.
| Photo Credit: ANI
To cope with competitors challenges posed by digital markets, CCI Chairperson Ravneet Kaur on May 20 pitched for regulatory agility, new analytical instruments and presumably, novel regulatory frameworks, particularly tailor-made to the digital context.
While emphasising the necessity for a nuanced strategy mixing conventional competitors evaluation with a deep understanding of digital market dynamics, she additionally mentioned that points like “algorithmic collusion” pose novel challenges for regulators.
The watchdog has been taking steps to handle anti-competitive issues within the digital markets and has additionally handed varied orders in recent times.
The CCI might be conducting a market research on Artificial Intelligence (AI) that might be aimed toward creating an in-depth understanding of the rising competitors dynamics within the growth ecosystems of AI.
According to her, the transformative capabilities of AI have vital pro-competition potential. At the identical time there could also be competitors issues emanating from the usage of AI,” she said and added that there is a growing emphasis on consumer welfare in the formulation and enforcement of competition law.
“Authorities are more and more contemplating the broader impression of new age enterprise practices on client selection, innovation, and general market well being past simply worth results. This consumer-centric strategy ensures that the advantages of competitors prolong on to the general public,” she said while speaking at the 15th annual day of the Competition Commission of India (CCI) in the national capital.
Further, Kaur said there is a need for regulatory agility, the development of new analytical tools, and possibly, novel regulatory frameworks specifically tailored to the digital context.
While algorithms play a central role in digital markets, from shaping user experiences to making pricing and product placement decisions, she said that however, the opacity of these algorithms can make it challenging to assess their impact on competition.
“Issues like algorithmic collusion, the place algorithms would possibly implicitly coordinate costs or market methods with out specific human path, pose novel challenges for competitors authorities,” the CCI chief said.
Companies that can collect, analyse and leverage vast amounts of data can gain significant competitive advantages, the CCI chief pointed out.
“This raises issues about knowledge dominance, the place management over massive knowledge units can create insurmountable limitations to entry for newcomers and might doubtlessly be utilized in ways in which hurt competitors and client selection,” she said, adding that many digital markets are characterised by platform business models, where a single entity controls access to a wide range of services and users.
Such concerns raise the issue of platform neutrality, particularly when platforms also compete with businesses that rely on their infrastructure. “There’s a rising concern over platforms doubtlessly favouring their very own providers or merchandise over these of opponents, resulting in unfair competitors practices,” Kaur mentioned.
On the imaginative and prescient, Kaur mentioned the regulator is specializing in rising areas within the digital economic system and the purpose is to make sure that competitors legislation enforcement evolves in tandem with these improvements, safeguarding the pursuits of customers and guaranteeing honest play.
