The Case For Data Under The Indian Competition Law Framework

The business model of the digital economy defies application of the traditional methods of evaluation of anti-competitive effects and dominance, as prescribed under the Competition Act, 2002 ("Act"). Further the financial thresholds prescribed for combinations present challenges, in terms of its application to data – driven mergers and acquisitions.

This article presents the case for incorporating access to data as a source of market power and explores the potential anti-competitive uses of such data.

Business Model of Digital Markets

Network Effects

The degree of competition in Internet markets is, often though not always determined by direct and indirect network effects and switching costs¹ Network effects essentially means the larger the user access a platform has, the more appealing the platform becomes to other users on the platform due to the utility they derive from it. For example, WhatsApp would provide greater value to an individual user, as its