Monopoly of Big Tech Companies on Internet is Concern for Government

Minister of State for Electronics and Information Technology Rajeev Chandrasekhar said that the model of revenue sharing between digital news publishers and big tech companies is tilted in favor of these companies and this is a matter of concern for the government. He said that there has been a big change in the country regarding digital and tech segments. The country is no longer seen as a place to start a low-cost back office, but as an important partner. Chandrashekhar said, “We are concerned about the huge imbalance between those who create content and those who help monetize it. From a policy-making perspective, we want to keep the Internet open. We do not want monetization on the Internet to be a , remained under the control of two or three companies.”

He said that the Digital India Act will solve the problem of imbalance between digital news publishers and big tech companies. “These big tech companies have control over how content is monetized and this imbalance needs to be legislated for or at least regulated,” Chandrasekhar said.

Last year, Google had requested the Supreme Court to dismiss the directions given against the company for misusing its dominant position in the Android market. Earlier, a tribunal had given some relief to Google in the same matter and rejected four out of the 10 directions given to it. Google has argued in the court that it has not misused its market position and should not be made responsible for paying the penalty. Along with this, the company has also sought permission to tell how users and developers have benefited from Android. In this case, the Competition Commission of India (CCI) had found Google guilty of misusing its dominant position in the market. CCI had also filed an appeal in the Supreme Court demanding rejection of the tribunal’s decision to give some relief to Google.