A committee on digital competition law (CDCL) was constituted on the recommendation of the parliamentary standing committee on finance to check on anti-competitive practices by big tech firms, the government told Parliament on Tuesday.
Union finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman was replying to Janata Dal-United (JDU) leader Aneel Prasad Hegde.
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Hegde had asked whether the government is aware of the fact that anti-competitive practices are indulged by big tech companies like Amazon, Flipkart, Google, Meta, Twitter, Apple, Facebook, Twitter and Google in the country.
In a written reply, Sitharaman said, “The Competition Commission of India (CCI), after conducting inquiries in three different matters, has passed orders under Section 27 of the Competition Act, 2002 in the matter related to Google on 31.01.2018, 20.10.2022 and 25.10.2022 and in the matter related to MakeMyTrip-Go and OYO on 19.10.2022 regarding allegations of contravention of the provisions of Section 3 and 4 of the Act. These orders are available on the website of CCI at cci.gov.in/antitrust/orders.”
“Appeals have been filed against these orders passed by CCI. Inquiries against Amazon, Flipkart, Zomato, Swiggy, BookMyShow, Apple, WhatsApp, Facebook (Meta) and Google in matters other than where orders have been passed under Section 27 of the Act, are also being conducted for alleged contravention of the provisions of the Act”, she stated.
When asked about the terms of the committee, Sitharaman said, “Terms of the reference of the Committee, inter-alia include, to review whether existing provisions in the Competition Act, 2002 and the Rules & Regulations framed thereunder are sufficient to deal with the challenges that have emerged from the digital economy; and to examine the need for an ex-ante regulatory mechanism for digital markets through a separate legislation.”