Won’t allow Big Tech companies to ‘corner or grab policy’: Rajeev Chandrasekhar

Union MoS for Electronics and IT, Rajeev Chandrasekhar, delivering the keynote address at Policy Next Karnataka event

The government will not allow Big Tech companies to "corner or grab policy", and Indian startups will be given the same importance when it comes to policymaking, Union Minister of State for Electronics and Technology Rajeev Chandrasekhar told Moneycontrol. His remarks come at a time when there has been a tussle between the Internet and Mobile Association of India (IAMAI) and the startup ecosystem, with the latter accusing the former of parroting the views of Big Tech companies.

On the sidelines of Moneycontrol's Policy Next summit, the minister was asked if there is an effort to listen to both startups and Big Tech companies on an equal playing field. The minister responded by saying, “We will listen to everybody, on every policy step we invite everybody who's a stakeholder, big, small, Indian, foreign, and we do what is right by our country's interest.”

“Around the table, we have everybody present. But we will certainly not allow the Big Tech companies to corner or grab policy. We will listen to them [Big Tech companies] as much as we listen to and give as much importance to our startups, especially Indian startups when it comes to policymaking,” he said.

This is significant because the dispute over IAMAI was primarily about one issue: the industry body, in a letter, criticised a Parliamentary committee report urging the government to introduce a new law to combat Big Tech firms' anti-competitive practices. It said that such a law would stifle innovation, competition, and investment in startups, among other things. Companies in India's startup ecosystem disagree, claiming that they support such legislation and that Big Tech companies influenced the industry body's opposition. These companies even called for changes to be made in IAMAI.

The IAMAI has more than 550 members, which include prominent tech giants such as Meta, Google, Microsoft, and Apple, among others.

In a report released in December 2022, the Parliamentary Standing Committee on Finance recommended defining Big Tech companies as Systemically Important Digital Intermediaries (SIDIs) on the basis of their revenues, market capitalisation and end users, among other recommendations. In February, the Union government formed the Committee on Digital Competition Law to examine the “need for a separate law on competition in digital markets”.

After the squabble within the industry group, IAMAI President Subho Ray wrote to the organisation's members, stating that it was carrying out its mandate by following a process and would "work without fear or favour."

The industry body's tussle has also resulted in 30-40 startups and domestic companies considering joining other tech lobby groups, including a prominent rival association that is involved in legal action against Big Tech firms.