CCI Chairperson Ravneet Kaur warns AI will amplify digital market anti-competitive practices, turning fast-paced changes into "jet speed". Businesses are adopting AI rapidly, but regulators see it as a new toolkit for self-preferencing and market manipulation. This puts big tech players with "agentic AI" systems directly in regulatory crosshairs.
How We Got Here
The CCI released a market study on AI and competition in October, urging enterprises to conduct self-audits for compliance. That report specifically flagged "agentic AI" – systems making independent decisions – as a key concern for market distortion.
The Numbers
- Ravneet Kaur made these remarks at a national training programme for law students at IIULER in Goa.
- Specific anti-competitive practices flagged include self-preferencing, discriminatory pricing, tying, and market manipulation.
- The October market study called for "greater transparency" and "reduced information asymmetry" around AI systems, without disclosing proprietary algorithms.
- Proposed audits aim for more explainable and auditable AI, especially for companies with significant market power or wide consumer reach.
What Happens Next
🇮🇳 Why This Matters for India
For product managers and founders building AI-driven solutions in Bangalore's SaaS scene or Mumbai's fintech sector, this means baking in compliance from day one, not as an afterthought.
The Take
The real shift is the explicit focus on "agentic AI" systems, placing the burden of proving non-collusion firmly on developers. This means a new wave of "explainable AI" and compliance tooling will emerge within the next 12 months.
Source:
Inc42 ↗