Antitrust Actions: Big Tech Giants Stare At Probes And Lawsuits As India Also Plans Regulatory Changes

The effort led by India’s Minister of State for IT and Electronics aims to persuade tech companies to shake off tendencies to monopolise India’s digital marketplace.

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India is gearing up to revamp its laws governing the regulation of Big Tech giants. The second half of 2023 is going to be challenging globally as major social media platforms, including Alphabet, Amazon, Apple, Meta, and Microsoft, are anticipating escalating legal battles and intensifying investigations in Europe and North America. On both sides of the Atlantic, regulatory bodies are actively targeting antitrust practices in the Internet ecosystem.

The moves being made abroad to bring Big Tech companies in line with fair-play practices have come alongside the Indian government’s proactive initiative to thrash out ways to democratise India’s vast internet marketplace. India, whose online space is dominated by Google, Facebook, WhatsApp, Amazon, Apple, and Microsoft, is on the verge of rolling out its much-anticipated Digital India Act.

The effort, led by India’s Minister of State for IT and Electronics, Rajeev Chandrasekhar, aims to persuade tech companies to shake off tendencies to monopolise India’s digital marketplace.

Alongside India's proactive initiative to democratise its vast internet marketplace, regulatory actions abroad have gained momentum since the Competition Commission of India's landmark decision last year. The CCI imposed a record Rs 1,338-crore fine on Google for alleged monopolistic control over its Android operating system, setting off a chain of events globally.

Big Five’s Big Fights

Under the leadership of CEO Sundar Pichai, California-based Alphabet is currently facing regulatory scrutiny on multiple fronts. Germany's Federal Cartel Office has initiated two investigations, accusing Google's business of special abuse control and anti-competitive restrictions on its Google Maps platform. In the US, Alphabet is confronting accusations of unauthorized collection of biometric data and abuse of monopoly power in digital advertising. Mexican regulatory authorities have also launched an investigation against Alphabet for alleged anti-competitive practices.

Jeff Bezos' Amazon is contending with legal actions in both the US and the UK. The UK's Competition and Markets Authority has filed a court case, alleging that Amazon employs a secretive algorithm to dominate the British online marketplace. In the US, the Securities and Exchanges Commission is scrutinizing how Amazon handles and utilizes third-party data.

Apple, led by CEO Tim Cook, is facing investigations in Britain, the EU, and Brazil. Brazil's regulator, CADE, has accused Apple of abusing its dominant market position in the mobile app store. The Competition and Markets Authority in Britain is examining Apple's dominance through its mobile browser, Safari. The European Commission is conducting a probe into Apple's alleged restriction of rivals' access to NFC chip technology, in addition to addressing an antitrust complaint from Spotify.

Meta, the parent company of Facebook under the leadership of CEO Mark Zuckerberg, is being sued by the Federal Trade Commission of the US, which alleges anti-competitive behaviour related to Meta's acquisition of VR startup Within.

Microsoft, led by CEO Satya Nadella, is facing a serious investigation by the European Commission based on a case brought forward by Salesforce's messaging app, Slack.

Dedicated Antitrust Hawks In US, EU

These ongoing actions and investigations are being closely monitored by high-profile antitrust hawks on both sides of the Atlantic. Lina Khan, Chief of the Federal Trade Commission in the US, is overseeing antitrust cases against Big Tech, while Margrethe Vestager, European Commissioner for Competition, is focused on reining in tech companies in the EU.

Expectedly, Ravneet Kaur, who recently took charge of India’s antitrust regulatory body CCI, believes in a collaborative approach in the global fight to democratise the internet.

In recent remarks to an Indian media outlet, Kaur said: “Collaboration with international competition authorities and organisations to promote global competition principles, share best practices, foster cooperation in cross-border competition cases, and showcasing the work of the CCI will be encouraged.”

A spokesperson of the Digital News Publishers’ Association (DNPA), an umbrella body that represents the digital arms of India’s leading media outlets, welcomed Kaur’s call for international coordination.

“While India is making the right moves in trying to uplift and protect the evolving rights of netizens and all other stakeholders in the digital landscape, such moves can be most effective with due cooperation with regulators from other countries,” the DNPA spokesperson said.