According to the report of news agency PTI, a parliamentary panel has decided to call representatives of big tech companies such as Google, Amazon, Twitter, Facebook etc.
The Parliamentary Standing Committee on Finance is expected to discuss issues related to their competitive practices. The move comes after the Competition Commission of India (CCI) made a presentation to the panel regarding the ongoing investigation.
BJP leader and former Union minister Jayant Sinha, who also heads the panel, told PTI that the committee had “excellent discussions” with officials from the Ministry of Corporate Affairs, Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology and CCI.
The regulator told the panel that it was setting up a ‘digital market and data entity’ to effectively tackle anti-competitive practices of big tech companies and bring in a new bill to amend the CCI Act.
The CCI also cited several investigations against Google, Facebook-WhatsApp, Apple, Amazon, Flipkart, MakeMyTrip-Goibibo, Swiggy and Zomato.
The meeting also comes against the backdrop of growing concerns globally, including in India, about alleged practices of large tech players and technology platforms that could adversely affect competition in the market.
The next meeting is likely to be called in the second week of May.