AI may accelerate anti-competitive practices in digital markets: CCI chief

Panaji: Rapid adoption of artificial intelligence (AI) could amplify anti-competitive practices in digital markets, Competition Commission of India (CCI) chairperson Ravneet Kaur warned on Monday, flagging risks like self-preferencing, discriminatory pricing, tying, and market manipulation.

Addressing a national training programme-cum-workshop for law students at the India International University of Legal Education and Research (IIULER) in Goa, Kaur said that while AI offers immense benefits across sectors such as healthcare, education, and logistics, it also accelerates digital market dynamics.

"Digital markets are something we have been seeing for some time now, but there is something else which is also happening now - AI. What was going at a very fast pace in digital markets has turned like jet speed now because of AI," she said.


She said businesses across sectors were rapidly adopting AI tools and applications, bringing benefits in areas such as education, healthcare, logistics and supply chain management.

At the same time, the competition regulator needed to examine whether AI could also be used to replicate some of the anti-competitive practices seen in digital markets, she said.

Kaur said the CCI was particularly looking at the possibility of agentic AI carrying out such actions without direct human intervention.

"The algorithms are made in such a way that it is something happening on its own," she said, referring to a situation where an AI system could track a competitor's pricing and automatically respond by matching or cutting prices.

These are some of the potential issues highlighted in the CCI's study on AI and competition, she said, adding that the commission had undertaken a detailed first-of-its-kind study on the subject last year.

Kaur said the CCI did not want to "jump in immediately" every time a new technology or market trend emerged.

Market studies were an important tool for understanding emerging issues, particularly as India had a large and growing startup ecosystem, she said.

Kaur said a competition law was essentially an economic law that sat at the intersection of law, economics, public policy, corporate governance and technology.

Its purpose was to prevent anti-competitive practices, promote competition, protect consumer interests and ensure freedom of trade for market participants, she said.

The CCI's work broadly revolves around three areas - antitrust enforcement, regulation of mergers and combinations, and competition advocacy.

Explaining the regulator's approach, Kaur said the CCI was not against companies becoming large or dominant.

"We are okay with enterprises becoming dominant. We have nothing against dominance, against growth. But the abuse of dominance is where the CCI comes down very strictly," she said.

She said India had moved away from the earlier MRTP regime (Monopolies and Restrictive Trade Practices Act of 1969) after the 1991 economic reforms.

The focus now was on allowing businesses to grow while ensuring that they did not use exclusionary or exploitative practices to achieve that growth.

"If markets are not independent, then what we are looking at is growth which is not because of merit and innovation. That is not the way any country can grow," Kaur said.

At the same time, she stressed that the CCI saw itself as part of India's growth story and that facilitating business growth was an important part of its role.

The challenge for the regulator, she said, was to keep pace with rapid changes while ensuring that regulation does not hinder innovation or legitimate business growth.

Kaur also stressed the importance of competition compliance by businesses, noting that prevention was better than cure.

CCI Director Rajinder Kumar, members Deepak Anurag and Sweta Kakkad and Deputy Director K Sultanpuri participated in the four technical sessions of the event.

IIULER Vice Chancellor Dr R Venkata Rao delivered the welcome address.