The Digital Competition Bill is the draft law India wrote to rein in the biggest platforms before they misuse their position, not after. It would let the Competition Commission of India (CCI) label a handful of giants as Systemically Significant Digital Enterprises (SSDEs) and bind them to ex-ante conduct rules: no self-preferencing, no anti-steering, no locking out third-party apps, with penalties of up to 10% of global turnover. Two years after the draft appeared, it is still not law, the government has paused and re-opened the question, and a market study is deciding how wide the net should be. If you run a startup, an app, a marketplace or a SaaS product that depends on Google, Apple, Amazon or Meta, this guide shows where the Bill stands today, what it would change, and how to plan around the uncertainty. For related regulatory shifts, see our technology law section.
Key Takeaways on the Digital Competition Bill
- It is still a draft. Published in March 2024, paused in 2025, and now waiting on a government-commissioned market study.
- It targets the very largest firms. The 2024 draft used thresholds such as ₹4,000 crore of Indian turnover or a global market capitalisation of $75 billion, plus user numbers.
- Rules apply in advance. Designated firms would follow do-and-don’t obligations without the CCI first proving abuse.
- Startups are split. More than 40 want the rules passed; others fear being caught as they grow.
- Nothing changes for your contracts today, but you can prepare, as the checklist below shows.
What the Digital Competition Bill Is and Why It Exists
India’s Competition Act, 2002 works after the fact. The CCI investigates a complaint, finds abuse of dominance, and fines the company. In fast digital markets that can take years, and by then a rival may already be gone. A Parliamentary Standing Committee on Finance recommended in December 2022 that India add an ex-ante regime for large platforms. The Ministry of Corporate Affairs then set up the Committee on Digital Competition Law (CDCL), which submitted a report and the draft Digital Competition Bill, 2024 in March 2024.
Think of the Digital Competition Bill’s approach as a speed limit versus a court case. An ex-post law punishes the accident. An ex-ante law posts the limit on the road. Europe’s Digital Markets Act is the best known version, and the Indian draft borrows from it while departing in several places, a point the Finance Committee itself noted in 2025.
Who Would Be Caught: The SSDE Test
The draft applies to enterprises providing a Core Digital Service in India. Based on reported summaries of the 2024 draft, an enterprise may be designated an SSDE if it crosses certain financial or spread thresholds:
| Test | Threshold in the 2024 draft (as reported) |
|---|---|
| Turnover in India | At least ₹4,000 crore over the last three financial years |
| Global turnover | At least $30 billion |
| Gross merchandise value in India | At least ₹16,000 crore |
| Global market capitalisation | At least $75 billion |
| Users of the core service in India | At least 1 crore end users or 10,000 business users |
Two more details matter. The CCI could designate a firm below the numbers if it has a “significant presence” in a core service, which critics call too discretionary. And a designation would remain valid for three years unless the market changes sharply. Also, group companies that benefit from data gathered by the main entity can be designated Associate Digital Enterprises and carry the same duties. YouTube and Google Maps have been cited as examples.
The Nine Core Digital Services
Schedule I lists nine: online search engines, social networking, video-sharing platforms, interpersonal communication services, operating systems, web browsers, cloud services, advertising services, and online intermediation services (which takes in app stores, marketplaces and aggregators). The Finance Committee’s August 2026 report asks the government to extend coverage to virtual assistants and cloud services, so this list is a moving target.
Digital Competition Bill Obligations: What Designated Platforms Could Not Do
Reported summaries of the draft describe prohibitions on the following conduct, each of which maps to a complaint startups have made for years:
- Self-preferencing. Ranking or promoting the platform’s own services above rivals.
- Anti-steering. Stopping business users from telling customers about a cheaper deal elsewhere.
- Restricting third-party apps. Blocking or hobbling other apps on the platform’s operating system or store.
- Combining user data across services without a proper basis, and using business users’ non-public data against them.
- Tying and bundling, such as forcing use of one service to access another.
Penalties under the Digital Competition Bill are civil. The draft proposes fines of up to 10% of global turnover, and the CDCL also recommended a separate NCLAT bench for digital competition appeals. The conduct rules would be set largely through CCI regulations rather than in the Act itself, another difference from the EU model that the Committee flagged.
Data combination also touches privacy compliance, so if your product uses cross-service data, our DPDP privacy policy compliance checklist is a useful companion.
Where the Digital Competition Bill Stands Today: A Timeline
| When | What happened |
|---|---|
| December 2022 | Parliamentary Standing Committee recommends a separate law with ex-ante obligations for large platforms |
| March 2024 | CDCL submits its report; the draft Digital Competition Bill, 2024 is published for comment |
| September 2024 | CCI sets up a Digital Markets Division; media reports say the Centre may withdraw or rewrite the draft (never confirmed) |
| August 2025 | Finance Committee’s 25th report records that the government will not proceed with ex-ante provisions “for now” and wants market studies first |
| November 2025 | MCA floats a request for proposals for a study on thresholds and core services |
| 18 May 2026 | MDI Gurugram signs the study agreement for ₹1.19 crore, according to an RTI reply |
| 10 August 2026 | Finance Committee’s 37th report urges the government to finalise the Bill and extend it to virtual assistants and cloud services |
| September 2026 | Stakeholder consultations for the study; big tech asks for dilution, startups ask for passage |
| October 2026 | Final study report was expected; MCA says no information is available on whether it has been delivered |
The study reportedly asks three questions: do the Clause 3 thresholds work, are nine services the right list, and what happens to smaller players and MSMEs. It will sample at least 30 major tech firms, 30 startups or MSMEs, and five providers of core services. The government told the Finance Committee it is taking an evidence-based and adaptive approach, and it accepted seven of the Committee’s eight recommendations. The Committee rejected its reply on protecting small businesses, so expect small-business protection to stay on the agenda.
Who Wants What in the Digital Competition Bill Debate
The fight explains why the Digital Competition Bill is moving slowly. Google, Meta and other large firms reportedly accept an ex-ante regime in principle but want a route to appeal a designation, proof of India-specific harm before obligations apply, and lighter compliance costs. They point to the EU experience as showing little impact so far. Over 40 Indian startups, including Bharat Matrimony, TrulyMadly and MagicBricks, want the rules passed, with thresholds closer to Europe’s, a rebuttal mechanism, and a dedicated digital regulator. Bharat Matrimony’s founder put the startup case bluntly: after-the-fact enforcement does not work in digital markets.
There is a credible argument on the other side too. Commentary has warned that static thresholds ignore fast-changing markets, that a startup could be penalised for succeeding, and that growth caps could make investors wary of challengers. Both camps ask for a rebuttal mechanism, and the thresholds are likely to be the hardest point to settle. Enforcement capacity is a separate concern. CCI penalties of ₹18,512.28 crore out of ₹20,350.46 crore, as of 30 April 2025, had been stayed or set aside on appeal, which supporters cite as a reason ex-ante rules look attractive; the government, for its part, defended the 25% pre-deposit requirement as a way to discourage frivolous appeals.
What the Digital Competition Bill Means for Startups
If You Depend on a Big Platform
You are the person the Digital Competition Bill is written for. If your growth comes through an app store, a search ranking, a marketplace or a cloud contract, the rules on self-preferencing, anti-steering and data use could change your costs. The Digital Competition Bill is not yet law, so you cannot rely on it in a dispute. What you can do is document how platform terms affect you, which becomes valuable evidence for the CCI or a market study. Our guide to the legal checklist for Indian startups is a good place to confirm your own paperwork is in order first.
If You Could Become Big Yourself
The Digital Competition Bill’s thresholds are high, so a typical seed-stage company is nowhere near them. The risk is for fast-growing consumer platforms, which is why the Finance Committee asked for refined thresholds so fast-growing domestic firms are not captured early. If you raise capital on a growth story, investors will ask about regulatory exposure, so line that up with your term sheet and diligence answers.
If You Build on Top of Foundation Models or Cloud
The Finance Committee wants cloud services and virtual assistants added, and the CCI has run an AI market study. If your product rides on someone else’s model or infrastructure, watch the next Digital Competition Bill draft closely and look at your vendor contracts. Liability caps and exit terms matter more when a regulator might reshape the market, as we explain in the article on the limitation of liability clause.
If You Sell Through E-commerce Platforms
Alongside the Digital Competition Bill, the Committee also asked for an e-commerce code of conduct for small sellers dealing with large platforms, covering platform neutrality, algorithmic transparency and non-discriminatory data access, with mandatory mediation. If you are an MSME seller, our MSME registration guide shows what to have in place before you invoke any protection.
How This Differs From the EU Digital Markets Act
| Feature | India draft (2024) | EU DMA |
|---|---|---|
| Designation | SSDE through thresholds, with CCI discretion below them | “Gatekeeper” through thresholds, with a rebuttal route |
| Rebuttal mechanism | None in the draft; the Finance Committee wants one | Available in exceptional cases |
| Where obligations sit | Largely set by CCI regulations | Written into the law itself |
| Service list | Nine Core Digital Services | Defined list of core platform services |
| Fine ceiling | Up to 10% of global turnover | Up to 10% for a first breach under the DMA |
This comparison of the Digital Competition Bill with the EU rules is my summary of the points the Finance Committee’s 2025 report and press coverage have noted. For the EU side, check the DMA text before quoting it.
Practical Checklist While the Digital Competition Bill Is Pending
- Map your platform dependencies: list every app store, marketplace, cloud, ad network or OS your revenue relies on.
- Keep dated evidence of ranking drops, delistings, fee changes and data access restrictions that hurt you.
- Read your platform contracts for termination, data and interoperability terms, and note renewal dates.
- Review your own market position. If you are growing fast in a covered service, track user counts against the thresholds.
- Get your privacy house in order, since data combination limits sit next to DPDP duties. See why privacy due diligence can make or break a funding round.
- Watch the MDI study outcome and any revised draft the MCA releases for comment.
- Submit comments if you are a startup. Consultation inputs are how thresholds got changed in other jurisdictions.
- Keep your terms current. Your Terms of Service should match what you actually do; our note on Terms of Service vs Privacy Policy helps.
If you want a second opinion on how the Digital Competition Bill touches a platform contract or a dependency risk, reach me through the contact page.
Why India’s Digital Competition Bill Moves Cautiously
Compare this with another platform law passed quickly, the online money-gaming ban, which we explain in our guide to the Online Gaming Ban. The Digital Competition Bill has gone the other way, with years of consultation, a pause and a market study. Part of that is institutional: the CCI’s Digital Markets Division was set up only in September 2024, and the government has said a proposal to add 55 posts is under consideration. Part of it is political, since both big tech and domestic startups claim they are the ones needing protection. Expect a dual-track outcome, with a targeted ex-ante law alongside stronger Competition Act enforcement, which includes settlement and commitment mechanisms.
Frequently Asked Questions About the Digital Competition Bill
1. What is the Digital Competition Bill in simple terms?
It is a draft law that would let the CCI designate very large digital platforms as Systemically Significant Digital Enterprises and impose pre-set conduct rules on them, such as no self-preferencing and no blocking of third-party apps, without waiting for proof of abuse.
2. Is the Digital Competition Bill law yet?
No. It is a draft published in March 2024. The government paused the ex-ante provisions in 2025, commissioned a market study, and as of October 2026 sources describe it as not yet finalised.
3. Was the Digital Competition Bill withdrawn?
Media reports in September 2024 said the Centre was considering withdrawing the draft, but that was never confirmed. The government instead said it would reassess thresholds and study the market, and the Finance Committee asked it in August 2026 to finalise the Bill.
4. Which companies would count as SSDEs?
Under the 2024 draft, a firm offering a core digital service in India could qualify with turnover of at least ₹4,000 crore in India, global turnover of $30 billion, GMV of ₹16,000 crore, or market capitalisation of $75 billion, along with user thresholds. Those numbers may change after the market study.
5. What are the Core Digital Services?
Nine services are listed: search engines, social networking, video-sharing, interpersonal communication, operating systems, web browsers, cloud services, advertising services and online intermediation. The Finance Committee wants virtual assistants and cloud services added or confirmed.
6. What penalties does the draft propose?
Civil penalties of up to 10% of a firm’s global turnover. The conduct rules themselves would be framed through CCI regulations.
7. Will it hurt Indian startups?
Most startups are far below the thresholds. The concern is fast-growing firms that could be caught early. More than 40 startups want the Bill passed, since it would restrain platforms they depend on, so the effect is mixed.
8. What is the difference between ex-ante and ex-post regulation?
Ex-post means the regulator investigates and punishes after conduct occurs, as under the Competition Act. Ex-ante means rules set in advance bind designated firms, and breaches can be penalised without a lengthy inquiry into market harm first.
9. What is the MDI market study and why does it matter?
The MCA hired MDI Gurugram for ₹1.19 crore to test whether the thresholds and the nine services work and to estimate the effect on startups and MSMEs. Its findings will shape the revised Bill.
10. What should my business do now?
Map platform dependencies, record evidence of unfair treatment, review contracts, tidy your privacy compliance, and track the revised draft. Nothing in the draft is enforceable yet, so treat it as a planning signal, not a legal right.
Need Help Reading a Platform Contract?
If a large platform’s terms are squeezing your business, a short review can show your options today. Talk to Advocate Parvez Ali, or read more about the author.