To regulate WhatsApp and Big Tech, India’s competition panel needs more teeth – and fresh thinking
The Competition Commission of India needs legislative tools, an army of technical experts and a proactive approach for being relevant in the digital age. An hour ago India’s current competition law operates on a traditional understanding of markets, but the digital medium is a new kind of space. | Narinder Naanu / AFP
The Competition Commission of India is keen to regulate big tech. Last month, the regulatory body ordered an investigation into WhatsApp’s privacy policy update alleging that the Facebook-owned company has breached antitrust provisions through its “exploitative and exclusionary conduct”. This move comes after the much-publicised “take-it-or-leave-it” kind of privacy policy update from WhatsApp in January 2021.