The suo motu order by the Competition Commission of India<\/a> (CCI<\/a>) to launch an investigation into WhatsApp<\/a>'s new privacy policy<\/a> is a laudable assertive exercise of its statutory role as a guardian of Indian consumers' rights and ensuring a free unhindered competition in the market.
In January this year, Facebook-owned WhatsApp caused a huge uproar by unilaterally asking its users to accept new terms allowing it to share more private information with parent Facebook for advertising and commercial purposes. What added to the outrage was that if you lived in an EU region, they would not be able to do it, it would be forbidden under their General Data Protection Regulation<\/a> (GDPR), raising strong demand for urgency in similar Indian data protection law.
By taking cognisance of the potential impact of the policy on Indian consumers, the CCI has rightfully stood up on behalf of the free market as well as privacy rights of the consumers, terming it in its well-reasoned and detailed prima facie order as 'exclusionary' and 'exploitative' (bit.ly\/39rWTvl). While the policy had been under judicial scrutiny, the CCI investigation will bring in its focussed expertise to the rescue of WhatsApp's 53 crore Indian consumers. This is particularly welcome as India is still awaiting finalisation of its Personal Data Protection<\/a> law, with the joint parliamentary committee<\/a> still seized of the matter.
While thinking about regulations for large technology companies in India, it is critical to carefully consider the trade-off between allowing access and protecting consumer privacy. Encroachment of privacy and fiddling with private data can take the form of non-price competition. As rightly concluded by CCI, non-price parameters in a digital market can have great potential to distort market competition (bit.ly\/2Pu4cvk). The extent to which a consumer can 'freely consent' to an action by a dominant player is of paramount importance as companies pursue data aggregation. In the case of WhatsApp's new privacy policy, it was a 'take it or leave it' proposition, violative on several counts.
Privacy degradation, when a company collects data for one purpose and then forces consumers to consent to that data being used for other purposes, can be deeply detrimental to consumers and their privacy. A low standard of data protection, when combined with the act of cross-linking of data across services being offered by group companies, can create a vicious cycle wherein a dominant player collects humongous personal data and limits free choice. Once the consumer has no ability to move out or has simply given away too much data, he becomes vulnerable to exploitation. Even more dangerously, social media platforms can manipulate the consumer and influence their behaviour in a surreptitious manner.
From a free market point of view, this can also set into motion an irreversible process of non-price competition, wherein, large technology companies with big data can elbow out smaller startups or simply buy them out in killer acquisitions. The entry barrier for new technology companies that don't have existing reservoirs of consumer data can become so high, that even the brightest among our innovators will have to just give up.
If one looks around, the market regulator in Japan had in 2019 come up with guidelines that any use of personal information, including users' purchase history and location, without their consent would constitute an \"abuse of a superior bargaining position\", a violation specified under Japan's Antimonopoly Act. In Germany too, Facebook had been held guilty by the German Federal Court for abusing its dominant position in forcing users to share their data with other Facebook-owned entities - WhatsApp and Instagram. In the US too, FTC is scrutinising these practices.
While a fuller picture here will emerge on completion of the investigation by DG (Investigation), what WhatsApp has done in India comes across on various accounts as a flagrant abuse of its dominant position.
WhatsApp has played a key role in connecting people and helping small businesses. It has to be remembered that there are mature world-class regulators acting as umpires to show red and yellow flags on the playfield.
(The writer served as the first Chairman of the Competition Commission of India)<\/strong><\/em>
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由Dhanendra库马尔
索莫土语order by印度竞争委员会(CCI)将开展一项调查WhatsApp的新的隐私政策是一个值得称赞的自信行使其法定作为监护人的印度消费者权益,确保不受阻碍的自由市场上竞争。
今年1月,Facebook-owned WhatsApp引起了巨大的骚动,单方面要求用户接受新条款允许它与父母分享更多的私人信息Facebook广告和商业目的。添加到愤怒的是,如果你住在一个欧盟地区,他们将无法做到,这将是禁止他们一般数据保护规定(GDPR),提高强劲需求紧迫性在印度类似的数据保护法律。
通过认知的印度消费者政策的潜在影响,CCI理所当然地站起来代表了自由市场以及消费者的隐私权,在它的理由充分和详细的初步订单“排除”和“剥削”(bit . ly / 39 rwtvl)。政策一直在司法审查时,CCI调查将在其专注专业救援WhatsApp 53卢比的印度消费者的。这是特别欢迎的印度仍在等待定稿个人数据保护法律,联合议会委员会仍然抓住了。
同时考虑法规对于大型科技公司在印度,是十分关键的仔细考虑允许访问和保护消费者隐私之间的权衡。侵犯隐私和摆弄的私人数据可以采取非价格竞争的形式。CCI正确地得出结论,在数码市场非价格参数可以有很大的潜力来扭曲市场竞争(bit . ly / 2 pu4cvk)。在多大程度上消费者可以自由同意的一个行动的主导者是至关重要,因为企业追求数据聚合。WhatsApp的新的隐私政策而言,这是一个“要么接受要么放弃”的命题,从几个方面违背的。
隐私退化,当一个公司一个目的收集数据,然后迫使消费者同意的数据被用于其他用途,可以深深损害消费者和他们的隐私。低标准的数据保护,当结合交联行为跨服务集团公司提供的数据,可以创建一个恶性循环中一个主导者收集巨大无比的个人数据和限制自由的选择。一旦消费者没有能力搬出去或只是给了太多的数据,他变得容易受到剥削。更危险的是,社会媒体平台可以操纵消费者以秘密的方式和影响他们的行为。
从自由市场的角度来看,这也可以设置成运动非价格竞争的一个不可逆过程,其中,大型科技公司与大数据可以肘部小创业公司或者干脆买杀手收购。新技术公司的进入障碍没有现有的水库的消费者数据可以变得如此之高,即使是我们中最聪明的创新者将不得不放弃。
如果一个四周看了看,2019年在日本市场监管机构提出的指导方针,任何使用个人信息,包括用户的购买历史和位置,没有他们的同意将构成一个“滥用优越的讨价还价的地位”,违反规定在日本反垄断行为。在德国,Facebook已经被德国联邦法院举行有罪滥用其主导地位迫使用户分享他们的数据与其他Facebook-owned实体——WhatsApp和Instagram。在美国,联邦贸易委员会是审查这些实践。
更全面的图片将会出现在DG完成调查(调查),WhatsApp所做的在印度遇到各种账户作为公然滥用其优势地位。
WhatsApp连接人发挥了关键作用,帮助小型企业。它必须被铭记,有成熟的世界级的监管机构充当裁判给红色和黄色旗帜在球场上。
(作者为第一个印度竞争委员会主席)
索莫土语order by印度竞争委员会(CCI)将开展一项调查WhatsApp的新的隐私政策是一个值得称赞的自信行使其法定作为监护人的印度消费者权益,确保不受阻碍的自由市场上竞争。
今年1月,Facebook-owned WhatsApp引起了巨大的骚动,单方面要求用户接受新条款允许它与父母分享更多的私人信息Facebook广告和商业目的。添加到愤怒的是,如果你住在一个欧盟地区,他们将无法做到,这将是禁止他们一般数据保护规定(GDPR),提高强劲需求紧迫性在印度类似的数据保护法律。
通过认知的印度消费者政策的潜在影响,CCI理所当然地站起来代表了自由市场以及消费者的隐私权,在它的理由充分和详细的初步订单“排除”和“剥削”(bit . ly / 39 rwtvl)。政策一直在司法审查时,CCI调查将在其专注专业救援WhatsApp 53卢比的印度消费者的。这是特别欢迎的印度仍在等待定稿个人数据保护法律,联合议会委员会仍然抓住了。
同时考虑法规对于大型科技公司在印度,是十分关键的仔细考虑允许访问和保护消费者隐私之间的权衡。侵犯隐私和摆弄的私人数据可以采取非价格竞争的形式。CCI正确地得出结论,在数码市场非价格参数可以有很大的潜力来扭曲市场竞争(bit . ly / 2 pu4cvk)。在多大程度上消费者可以自由同意的一个行动的主导者是至关重要,因为企业追求数据聚合。WhatsApp的新的隐私政策而言,这是一个“要么接受要么放弃”的命题,从几个方面违背的。
隐私退化,当一个公司一个目的收集数据,然后迫使消费者同意的数据被用于其他用途,可以深深损害消费者和他们的隐私。低标准的数据保护,当结合交联行为跨服务集团公司提供的数据,可以创建一个恶性循环中一个主导者收集巨大无比的个人数据和限制自由的选择。一旦消费者没有能力搬出去或只是给了太多的数据,他变得容易受到剥削。更危险的是,社会媒体平台可以操纵消费者以秘密的方式和影响他们的行为。
从自由市场的角度来看,这也可以设置成运动非价格竞争的一个不可逆过程,其中,大型科技公司与大数据可以肘部小创业公司或者干脆买杀手收购。新技术公司的进入障碍没有现有的水库的消费者数据可以变得如此之高,即使是我们中最聪明的创新者将不得不放弃。
如果一个四周看了看,2019年在日本市场监管机构提出的指导方针,任何使用个人信息,包括用户的购买历史和位置,没有他们的同意将构成一个“滥用优越的讨价还价的地位”,违反规定在日本反垄断行为。在德国,Facebook已经被德国联邦法院举行有罪滥用其主导地位迫使用户分享他们的数据与其他Facebook-owned实体——WhatsApp和Instagram。在美国,联邦贸易委员会是审查这些实践。
更全面的图片将会出现在DG完成调查(调查),WhatsApp所做的在印度遇到各种账户作为公然滥用其优势地位。
WhatsApp连接人发挥了关键作用,帮助小型企业。它必须被铭记,有成熟的世界级的监管机构充当裁判给红色和黄色旗帜在球场上。
(作者为第一个印度竞争委员会主席)
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