Ex-Ante Rules to regulate digital gatekeeper platforms with a one-size-fits all approach

~ Anupam Sanghi, Founder TechBridge

Who’s Impacted - What are the Mandatory Obligations?

Gatekeepers with financial (domestic turnover < INR 4,000 cr) and user thresholds (10k business users 1cr end-users) are compelled to change their business models.

Top 5 Risks Impacting Indian Startup Ecosystem

How do Ex-Ante rules interfere in business freedom inviting CCI’s intervention?

1. Gatekeeper designations do not differentiate business models of platforms and ecosystems, labelled as SSDEs 

2. CCI can misinterpret legitimate business strategies and ethical behaviour under the umbrella of identified ACPs 

3. Penalties for non-compliance of mandatory changes to business structures / UX strategies 

4. Missing Efficiency vs. harm test for differentiated markets

5. Restricts incentive to grow to a certain size with innovative business models and vertically integrate with platform ecosystem

Tech Regulatory strategy - Priorities for Bridging Tech-Reg Gaps?

• Conflicting goals of the government / policymakers and the startup founders.

• Fragmented approach for which a  trillion dollar startup ecosystem remains at risk.

Need consensus building - How?

• Need a comprehensive digital market study 

• Need roundtables for multi-disciplinary perspectives

• Strategies to align goals with key stakeholders

• Building solutions to avoid restructuring costs

• Company Boards to allocate long term investments against knee jerk regulatory hurdles

• Advocacy to sensitise the government for de-risking investment (penalties/business models restructuring)

• Supporting empirical studies for consistent regulations

• Building principles based governance model - for issues demanding radical regulations

For Discussion

1. Impact of Ex-Ante rules in DCB on Indian tech platforms / MSMEs 

2. Entry barriers - Dominance issues 

3. Regulatory barriers - pros and cons 

4. Sector Studies with real harms - scenarios 

The TechBridge stands for thought leadership that gives a clear vision of how technology, ethics, and business intersect.