Earlier this month, the Competition Commission of India, or CCI, got a slap on the wrist. Its ban on Whatsapp from sharing user data with parent company Meta was overturned. Even though Whatsapp still had to pay a Rs 200 crore fine, the ruling was a blow to the CCI.

The fact is the antitrust watchdog has lost its bark when it comes to the digital economy. Where it used to take three months to close an investigation, the CCI now takes up to eight, and it currently dismisses 80% of the complaints that go its way. Among the cases that the commission does take up, nearly half are appealed.

Meanwhile, the digital economy is barreling ahead. Major tech companies—most of which are from overseas—have massive resources in the form of cash, lawyers, economists, and more to challenge the CCI’s decisions. 

All of this matters when the development of artificial intelligence makes it even more difficult to govern the way data is handled. As one startup founder told The Ken, “When algorithms start talking to each other without human intervention, competition challenges become more complex than before.”

Inderpal Singh looked into the trials and tribulations faced by the CCI in this edition of Make India Competitive Again, as read by Brady Ng.

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