In a statement, the coalition urged the Indian government to engage in wider stakeholder consultations to ensure that any new legislative proposals are in line with international best practice and evidence-based.
Published Date – Mon, 09 Jan 23 at 04:00pm
New Delhi; The Asia Internet Coalition, which includes Meta, Amazon, Twitter, Google and other big tech firms, has challenged a digital competition law recommended by Parliament’s Standing Committee on Finance that “could stifle digital innovation in India”.
In a statement, the coalition urged the Indian government to engage in wider stakeholder consultations to ensure that any new legislative proposals are in line with international best practice, evidence-based and geared towards the benefit of innovation, growth and consumers. Purpose.
“Otherwise, porting to India legislative reforms designed for foreign jurisdictions with high digital penetration could impose disproportionate costs on Indian consumers and impact on innovation and investment by Indian businesses – especially in It is time for the government to focus rightly on bringing connectivity to all under the Digital India Initiative,” the alliance said.
Last month, Parliament’s Standing Committee on Finance recommended that the Center develop a digital competition law to regulate anti-competitive behavior by big tech companies.
The coalition said the commission’s report was “prescriptive, authoritarian and regressive”.
The Indian government has recently introduced two important bills – the Revised Digital Personal Data Protection Bill and the Competition Amendment Bill (CAB), both of which aim to protect consumers, preserve competition and promote technological innovation, with a particular focus on digital marketplace.
The coalition said it was crucial to first understand the “impact of the two bills on the digital ecosystem” before introducing any new legislative proposals.
Founded in 2010, the Asia Internet Coalition (AIC) is an industry association that promotes the understanding and resolution of Internet policy issues in the Asia-Pacific region.
