New Digital Competition Bill may target only Big Tech, Govt likely to retain ex ante framework

As the government revisits the Digital Competition Bill (DCB), the proposed regulation is likely to retain the ex ante principle mooted earlier but tweak the various thresholds so that the new regime will principally apply only to global Big Tech firms. Domestic start-ups are set to be excluded from its ambit, judging by the questionnaire sent to stakeholders for an official study in this regard.

The market study carried out by MDI Gurgaon on behalf of the Ministry of Corporate Affairs (MCA) places significant emphasis on reviewing the proposed financial, user-based and qualitative thresholds for designating Systematically Significant Digital Enterprises (SSDEs).