NEWS HIGHLIGHTS
Theme : Government Policies, IT & Technology
Paper : GS - 2, GS - 3
Recently, the Competition Commission of India imposed a penalty of Rs 1,337.76 crore on Google for “abusing its dominant position” in the Android Mobile Device ecosystem.
Considering that big tech companies transact a large volume of data across the globe, it is necessary to harmonize, regulate them along with maintaining standards for consumer protection.
TABLE OF CONTENT
- Context
- Big Tech Companies
- Keeping Check on the Big Tech Companies
- Issues related to Big Tech Companies
- Road Ahead
Context : Recently, the Competition Commission of India imposed a penalty of Rs 1,337.76 crore on Google for “abusing its dominant position” in the Android Mobile Device ecosystem. Considering that big tech companies transact a large volume of data across the globe, it is necessary to harmonize, regulate them along with maintaining standards for consumer protection.
Big Tech Companies :
- Big Tech collectively describes the most prolific and prosperous technology companies in today's marketplace which have inordinate influence on internet users across the globe.
- They are often called the Big Five and include the following companies: Amazon, Apple, Facebook, Google, and Microsoft.
Keeping Check on the Big Tech Companies :
- At present, antitrust issues in India are guided by the Competition Act, 2002 with the Competition Commission of India taking the lead in checking monopolistic practices.
- Competition Commission of India has raised issues with Google’s commercial flight search option, its dominant position in the search marketplace.
- Google was found guilty in 2019 of misusing its dominant position in the mobile Android market to impose unfair conditions on device manufacturers.
- In addition, Google is accused of following a high and unfair commission mechanism for its Play Store apps.
- The government has also proposed amendments to the competition law through the Competition Amendment Bill, 2022 which is currently under review by The Parliamentary Standing Committee on Finance.
Issues related to Big Tech Companies :
-
Internet Monopolization: Big tech companies acquire competitors to buy consumer loyalty instead of earning it.
-
They leverage their market power in one line of business to gain monopolies in others, locking consumers into their ecosystem of products and services.
-
Their consolidated power can also swing elections and change the political mood of a nation.
-
-
Invasion of Privacy: When a person searches for a product online, the ads related to it appear on almost every internet platform they use. While it has many positive aspects, it has a massive potential of drastic negative repercussions.
-
Also, there is a lack of transparency in how tech companies process user data, which has made invasion of privacy a default.
-
-
Regulatory Vacuum: Due to rapid innovation and advancement by the Big Tech firms, the regulators are only able to react, not be in readiness.
-
These giant platforms maintain that they are only intermediaries and therefore, they can’t be held liable for the content.
-
-
Arbitrary Pricing: In the non-digital arena, price determination happens through market forces. However, in the digital space, rules are largely dictated by the large platforms. Consumers are products themselves on these platforms.
-
Concepts like network effects and winner-takes-all coupled with gatekeeping by Big Tech firms exacerbate the problem.
-
Road Ahead :
-
Regulating Platform-to-Business (P2B) Space: India must adopt a hard approach towards regulation of the platform-to-business (P2B) space in the larger socio-political and economic interests of small businesses.
-
Big tech companies enjoy an undeniable monopoly across sectors due to regulatory gaps and consumer loyalty. As consumers will not easily give up the convenience that this offers, it is necessary to create a network of regulatory measures and safeguards centered around them.
-
-
Data Management Framework: The regulatory framework for big tech companies to manage their data can be framed through joint collaboration between Ministries of Corporate Affairs, Electronics and Information technology, as well as the Competition Commission of India.
-
The government should require BigTech companies to ensure that the data harvested from consumers will not be used for any purpose other than serving the consumer’s interest.
-
-
Consumer Awareness: The government needs to take adequate steps to promote internet awareness, such as checking the authenticity of websites before any transactions are made, and not granting access to unauthorized applications.
FAQs :
1. What are Big Tech Companies?
Answer : Big Tech collectively describes the most prolific and prosperous technology companies in today's marketplace which have inordinate influence on internet users across the globe.
2. Which are Big 5 Tech Companies?
Answer : Amazon, Apple, Facebook, Google, and Microsoft.