Nearly sixty stakeholders have written a letter to India's Ministry of Corporate Affairs (MCA) asking for more transparent and open consultation around the proposed Digital Competition Act, which is reportedly in the final stages of drafting by the Committee on Digital Competition Law (CDCL). "We are concerned that the proposed Digital Competition Act would impact a wide range of subjects, such as digital inclusivity, user experience, data protection & security, foreign investment, cost of doing digital business for MSMEs, indirect impact on cost for consumers, etc. We feel that at present this important discourse is informed by only a few stakeholders even though the proposed law directly and indirectly affects a much wider range of stakeholders." — Open letter to MCA The letter dated June 26 also urges the Ministry to take into consideration the impact of the bill on: Consumers: "Historically it took a long time for technologies like the cellular telephone to become mainstream in India but today the most advanced hardware and software technologies are made available to Indian citizens almost immediately with their global launch. Keeping this in mind, only 2-3 legal systems have adopted ex-ante laws globally. If India also introduces a prescriptive ex-ante law then India may no longer be the 'first market' for newer technologies." Small businesses: "An overwhelming number of Indian citizens today have embraced entrepreneurship and are reaching out to customers globally. This has been possible largely due to the advent of technological tools including advertisement and other platform tools provided…
