India: Antitrust advocates back new e-comm guidelines

Global antitrust practitioners are lauding the new FDI in e-commerce rules, which kicked in last week, and said the new rules will prevent technology companies from forming monopolies in India.

They termed it as a step in the right direction to protect smaller businesses which sell on platforms like Amazon. However, some felt that the rules should not be restricted only to companies with foreign ownership, but be applicable to domestic players as well to prevent it from benefitting a select few companies.

Enforcing the new regulations only for firms that have foreign ownerships or investments could create a non-level playing field in India’s burgeoning e-commerce sector, they said.

In a post on Twitter, Lina Khan, an antitrust law and competition policy researcher, known for being a vocal critic of the business practices of Amazon, said India’s rule responded to a problem sellers on Amazon routinely face where, “Amazon will spot their best-selling products and then produce an Amazon-branded version, demoting them in search listings and eating into their sales.”