CCI Should Evolve Regulations to Counter ‘New Age’ Challenges: Nirmala Sitharaman
CCI urged to balance fair competition with growth in the face of AI and tech monopolies.
New Delhi: With the emerging artificial intelligence (AI) that poses a variety of challenges in many ways, Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Tuesday said that the competition watchdog Competition Commission of India (CCI) should evolve regulations to counter these ‘new age’ challenges. Highlighting the importance of competitive markets, Sitharaman also said that the ability of CCI to strike a balance between regulatory vigilance and a pro-growth mindset would be integral to building a resilient, equitable, and innovation-driven economic framework.
The role of CCI is to promote fair competition and prevent competitive practices in the marketplace. Besides, mergers and acquisitions beyond a certain threshold need approval of the watchdog. “Free and fair digital markets are challenged by the emergence of gatekeeper platforms, asymmetries in data access, and cross-border implications of digital business models. Besides, the rise of cross-border digital monopolies demands global cooperation and agile regulations,” she said, while addressing at the CCI event here.
On the emergence of new technologies, Sitharaman also said that artificial intelligence technologies raise novel questions about market power, transparency, data access, algorithmic biases, and the scope of competitive harm. “The regulatory framework should also help swift approvals for combinations that do not harm competition,” the minister said.
However, CCI chief Ravneet Kaur also said that amidst concerns and complaints over predatory pricing ways, the new cost of production norms would help in having more accurate and objective assessment for easier enforcement outcomes. “We have the possibility of algorithmic decision-making and self-preferencing by those having the first mover advantage,” she said.
Against this backdrop, Kaur also pointed out that there is a need to have a balance in looking at such conduct, where the approach is evidence-based, proportionate and anchored in rigorous economic analysis. “It is very essential to have a consistent approach for determining the costs, especially when it comes to digital markets and platforms on predatory pricing and deep discounting,” she added.