Author
Dr Ankit Srivastava
Organisation/Institution
Rajiv Gandhi National University of Law
Country
INDIA
Panel
Competition Law
Title
Digital Competition in Asia: Regulatory Pluralism Beyond the Digital Markets Act
Abstract
The European Digital Markets Act (DMA) represents a landmark shift in digital competition regulation, introducing ex-ante obligations for designated gatekeepers to promote fairness and contestability. While DMA has significantly influenced global discourse, its rigid structure and contentious outcomes have drawn criticism even within Europe. This paper opposes wholesale regulatory replication of DMA in Asian jurisdictions. Instead, it elucidates the emergence of regulatory pluralism, characterised by increasing rejection of regulatory parallelism in favour of formulating context-sensitive frameworks tailored to local ecosystems, market realities, and socio-economic priorities. This pluralism is evident in India’s withdrawal of the DMA-inspired Digital Competition Bill in 2025, Japan’s targeted interoperability rules, Korea’s focus on algorithmic accountability and platform transparency, and Indonesia’s new MSME-centric approach. National efforts are complemented by regional networks such as ASEAN’s Experts Group on Competition, which fosters cooperation without homogeneity through its Competition Action Plan 2025, East Asia Forum on Competition Policy and UNCTAD/OECD, which facilitate shared legal knowledge and regional integration while respecting jurisdictional diversity. The impetus for this legal transfiguration is rooted in nuanced regional strategy for creation of resilient and self-sufficient digital market. This entails a dual commitment towards justice, addressing both market participants. For businesses, it secures economic justice by ensuring equitable market access. Concurrently, for consumers, it translates into protection against data-driven exploitation, which is not a meagre privacy violation but an anti-competitive practice. This paper argues that in order to create a sustainable digital economy and prevent exploitation by digital giants, Asian jurisdiction must expand their competition mandates to build a just and sustainable digital economy. Furthermore, it positions Asia not as a passive recipient but as a proactive architect of digital competition law, ensuring sustainable development, justice, and promoting regional integration through pluralistic legal knowledge.
Biography
Dr. Ankit Srivastava is currently an Assistant Professor of Law at Rajiv Gandhi National University of Law (RGNUL), Punjab, where he also serves as Co-Coordinator of the PhD programme and is a Member of the Network for Indian Competition Experts at the Competition Commission of India. He is also a visiting faculty at IIM Rohtak. He holds a PhD in Law from NLU Jodhpur, an LLM from NLU Delhi, and a BALLB from Symbiosis Law School, Noida. With eight years of teaching and research experience, Dr. Srivastava has previously worked at Amity University Lucknow, NLU Jodhpur, and DNLU Jabalpur. He has directed research projects funded by ICSSR (on Sukanya Samriddhi Yojana) and the Competition Commission of India (on competition assessment of the electricity sector). He is the Faculty Editor for the RGNUL Financial and Mercantile Law Review, RGNUL Student Law Review, and Editor of the DNLU Law Review. He is also an executive member of the Centre for Business Law and Taxation and the Centre for Consumer and Competition Law at RGNUL. With 25 papers published and 11 presented, Dr. Srivastava has delivered guest lectures at various government organizations and universities. His areas of interest include Competition Law, Corporate Law, Contract Law, Consumer Laws, and Research Methodology.
