Mayank Gandhi here examines the role of data in digital businesses and its impact on competition and privacy. He argues for the intervention of the Competition Commission of India to address competition concerns related to big data, and propose solutions to effectively tackle these issues.
Abstract
Data is considered to be most essential to digital businesses. It is one of the key factors behind the success of online intermediaries and search engines. It has increasingly influenced tech giants into collecting & processing valuable data in pursuit of obtaining commercial advantages. However, this has invited the attention of the anti-trust authorities to examine whether such use of data provides tech giants an unfair competitive advantage.
Additionally, such business practices have also posed serious concerns of data privacy for individuals. Various European Union cases have analysed the pros and cons of data collection and processing in digital markets. Therefore, it is high time for the Competition Commission of India to intervene in the Indian digital market to resolve competition concerns associated with big data. In this respect, the article first seeks to define digital market and understand how big data is used by digital giants. Second, it undertakes the task of identifying efficiencies and anti-competitive effects associated with big data. Third, it provides an overview of the regulatory approach adopted by the CCI and other relevant competition authorities. Fourth, it highlights the challenges with respect to the protection of privacy and regulation of big data under the Indian antitrust regime. Lastly, the author points out various valuable and viable solutions which can help in effectively combating the emerging competition concerns attached to big data.