US Lobby Group Asks India To Reconsider EU-like Digital Competition Law

Google, Amazon, and Apple asked India to reconsider the digital competition law (photo: dock. pexels)

JAKARTA - A US lobby group representing technology giants Google, Amazon and Apple asked India to reconsider competition laws or European Union-like competition proposed by the Indian government. They argued that regulation on data usage and preferential treatment of partners could increase user costs.

Citing the growing market power of several major digital companies in India, a government panel in February proposed imposing obligations on them under a new antitrust law that would complement existing regulations that the panel said "formed a long time" to enforce.

India's Digital Competition Bill is based on the already running EU Digital Market Act. This will apply to big companies, including those with global revenues of more than US$30 billion and its digital services have at least 10 million users in India. This brings some of the world's largest tech companies under this law.

The law proposes to ban companies from utilizing its users' non-public data and promote their own services above competitors, as well as removing third-party application download restrictions.

Responses from the US Lobby Group

Companies are using this strategy to roll out new product features and improve user security, and limiting them will affect their plans, the US-India Business Council (USIBC), part of the US Chamber of Commerce, said in a May 15 letter to the Indian Ministry of Corporate Affairs, which is working on the law.

India's bill is "much broader in scope" than the EU law, the letter said, which has not yet been published but seen by Reuters.

"The targeted company is likely to reduce investment in India, increase prices for digital services, and reduce various services," the letter said.

USIBC, which asked India to reconsider the planned law, did not respond to questions from Reuters, nor did the Ministry of Corporate Affairs, Apple, Amazon, or Google.

Tempting Market

With a population of 1.4 billion people and the increasingly prosperous middle class, India is a profitable market for big tech companies. Apple CEO Tim Cook said this month that the company recorded a "record revenue" in India during the March quarter, as its global revenue declined 4%.

Panel India mengatakan undang-undang baru ini diperlukan karena beberapa perusahaan digital besar "miliki kekendalian besar atas pasar". Seperti di EU, panel ini merekomendasikan denda hingga 10% dari pendapatan global tahunan perusahaan untuk pelanggaran.

The Indian Competition Commission (CCI) has for years been investigating major tech companies. In 2022, CCI fined Google $161 million, ordering users not to limit deleting pre-installed apps and allowing downloads without using its app store. Google denies making a mistake and says the restrictions are increasing user security.

Amazon is also facing an antitrust investigation for favoring certain sellers on its Indian website, a charge it denies. Apple also denies allegations but faces an investigation into alleged abuse of its dominant position in the app market.

However, a group of 40 Indian startups support India's new law, saying that this law can help tackle the monopoly practices of dominant digital platforms and create equal playing fields for small companies.

There is no fixed schedule, but the Indian government will review the feedback on proposals before seeking parliamentary approval with or without change.